Nerds in Love
by hunter 139
Summary: A story chronicling Peter Parker and Michelle Jones throughout the years. Connected to my multiverse of stories, meaning there are some multi-crossover elements. Canon-divergent at the end of Infinity War.
1. Pining

**Alright, so I've decided to do something a little bit different than usual here: I've recently been really drawn to Peter Parker and Michelle Jones as a pairing, which only grew after seeing Far From Home. Then again, I already had them as a pairing throughout my recent story, Shattered Destinies, so I figured I might expand on their relationship a tad.**

**Now, bear in mind that the multiverse of my stories has a lot of crossovers and other events that happen within, which will certainly be referenced in this. I'll try to keep the multicrossover elements to a minimum and just focus on our two favorite nerds, but there's going to be quite a lot of overlap, especially considering Spider-Man's presence in a lot of important events.**

**If you want more context on these events, I would recommend reading my stories "Shadow of Order" and "Shattered Destinies" as well as the connecting chapters in "Accounts of the Flood Conflicts".**

**I did want to try and follow Far From Home itself, but with the way my multiverse has gone and how the MCU has been affected, that seems rather unlikely to happen. Oh well, it won't be a huge loss, I suppose.**

**With any luck, I'll actually be able to finish this work and with a lot of time dedicated to these two lovebirds. Unfortunately, my history with primarily romantic stories has been... subpar at best, so I can't promise how well this one will turn out. I do intend to see this one through to the end (and unlike my previous ones, I do have an idea for an ending planned out), so we'll see how it goes.**

**With all that said, let's dive right in shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the MCU, or any other franchise referenced in this story.**

* * *

Dark laughter that could be heard everywhere. A rasping baritone that couldn't be blocked out. An alien sky in a hollow world. A hole torn through the shell. Hordes of the undead rushing towards them. And then... it just stopped.

So much had changed in such a short amount of time. The world had been turned upside down with the widespread revelation that the multiverse did exist, which unfortunately happened when a multiversal superpower showed up and revealed that an alien parasite was hellbent on spreading and consuming them all.

The governments had apparently been convinced rather quickly, allowing entire cities to be enveloped in dimensional portals and relocated to the interior of some sort of Dyson Sphere, a concept that had previously thought to have been science fiction.

However, there had been some protests and resistance from more of the populace, many of whom were understandably in disbelief about the massive bombshell that had been dropped into their laps.

All those protests had immediately died in their cradle when the laughter started. What followed was an event that was now known as the Tidal Wave, where the Parasitical alien species known as the Flood had ravaged reality for half an hour, only being stopped by the nigh-omnipotent leaders of the Republic and the Separatists.

During the last few minutes, the Dyson sphere that had protected many of Earth's cities, including New York, from the onslaught had been broken open by massive Star Roads and the diseased forms of the Flood fell upon them.

It looked like the end was inevitable, before all the Flood forms disintegrated and the Star Roads shattered into dust. Just like that, the Tidal Wave had ended.

Of course, there had been casualties during the fighting: the Flood had interrupted the evacuation many cities, and the Avengers were trapped on the other side, still trying to defend whoever they could.

And once the Tidal Wave was done, it was clear that they hadn't gotten out unscathed. Captain America was the most prominent of the fallen, his funeral being a private ceremony attended by the Avengers and those closest to Steve Rogers, and a more public memorial attended by thousands of people from across the globe.

He was the most prominent casualty, but not the only one: Bruce Banner and Clint Barton had also been among the dead, and just like Cap, their bodies were unable to be recovered.

There had been plenty of mourning, of course, along with the Sokovia Accords being deemed a waste and scrapped from the UN. More to the point though, there was a new period of adjusting to the event, especially now that their world was now openly under the protection of a multiversal superpower.

Now, several months later, it was rather eerie how things had gotten back to normal. Classes were running normally, damaged buildings and streets and had been repaired, and if anything the quality of life had gotten better.

There were still a number of changes though: the Republic had opted for a relatively hands off approach regarding their version of Earth, undoubtedly to avoid being viewed as an invading army.

That said, they had sent technology and some of their own personnel to help rebuild the cities that had been damaged during the Tidal Wave. And while New York had come out relatively unscathed, other places hadn't been so lucky.

It was certainly amazing how quickly many damaged cities had been repaired, so quickly. And even some environmental damage had been quickly undone by techniques that almost looked like magic (and may very well have been magical in nature), to the point where it looked like no conflict had happened at all.

And while life at Midtown had returned to a degree of normalcy, there were still noticeable issues below the surface. For Michelle Jones, it was easy to see the cracks in her classmates. Quite a few people had dark circles around their eyes, indicating a lack of sleep.

Granted, she wasn't any better. The Flood were a nightmare she could never have imagined, and those nightmares were starting to become literal for everyone, even if they were all gone. She had always had a passion for the dark and macabre, but even she couldn't stand what the Flood did to people.

Footage of what the Flood did to people had been broadcasted during the Tidal Wave, an image that seemed to stick in everyone's mind. Twisting people into unnatural monsters, taking their memories as their own, it was all something right out of a cosmic horror story.

And even months later, it was becoming clear that no one could forget the world shattering events so easily, no matter how hard they tried.

Nowhere was this more pronounced than the eyes of Peter Parker. When in school, he acted basically the same as he always had: Nerdy and adorable in the way that MJ still found endearing. But no amount of acting could cover how tired he looked now.

And she had a good guess as to why. Spider-Man had reportedly stayed behind on Earth when the Republic's evacuations had been interrupted. Obviously, she wasn't aware of the full details behind what happened, but she had a sneaking suspicion that Peter knew more than he let on.

Of course, she wasn't entirely certain of her theory that Peter was Spider-Man. Her crush on him had led her to follow his schedule, noticing when he suddenly dropped marching band and the robotics club (all the while wondering whether her obsession with him was getting a little creepy).

But it was Washington where the puzzle started to fit together. Returning to the Decathlon team after quitting it, just in time for their tournament in Washington, Peter strangely disappeared the night before the tournament, and didn't show up until after everything was done.

But it was during their tour to the Washington monument, the one where her friends almost died, where the puzzle started to take shape. Spider-Man had made an appearance, saving the lives of her classmates, to her intense relief.

But it wasn't until after the fact that she started to realize the oddity. Prior to that, Spider-Man had primarily been seen in New York City. And the fact that Peter had been missing was rather interesting timing.

Admittedly, she still couldn't be 100% certain that Peter really was Spider-Man. But it was the only real explanation that explained his behavior. His abrupt departure at the Homecoming dance, his strange disappearance during the field trip to MOMA, and now all this.

When Peter had returned after the Tidal Wave, having been absent from New York during that time, it took all of MJ's self control not to just tackle him in a hug and kiss his adorable face. Even now, just sitting a few feet away from him, that urge was tugging at her.

She mollified herself by sneaking covert glances at him whenever he wasn't looking. When he looked up from his work, she glanced back down at hers to make sure he didn't notice.

...

Peter was tired. After everything that had happened, the Flood, the Tidal Wave, the Republic, it felt like a whole new level of responsibility had been dropped on his head. The knowledge that had been shoved into his brain prior to the event certainly hadn't helped.

As a member of the Avengers, he found himself working far more with the Republic now, in the months since the Flood attack. There had been some initial frostiness on the side of the Avengers, seeing as how the Republic had initially been spying on them for years, but Black Widow's testimony alongside SHIELD's had managed to defuse the tension.

Still, between his work with the Avengers, still being in high school, and the constant nightmares he was getting about the Flood, Peter was certainly feeling a whole new level of exhaustion. He understood what Mr. Stark meant about the job of a hero not being easy.

And to top it all off, there was also the matter of his growing feelings for MJ. He realized that he had been attracted to her for a while now, only growing moreso as they started to hang out more, but apparently it took all of reality nearly being consumed by an eldritch abomination to really put it all in perspective.

He liked her. He really, _really_ liked her. Maybe even more than that. Even now, just sitting a few feet away from her, it felt like it was taking up all his willpower not to close the gap, gather her in his arms, and just kiss her until they were both out of breath, kiss her without a care in the world and without any regard as to who was watching.

As it was, all he could do was just steal glances while she wasn't looking. Sadly, this moment was interrupted by the sound of the school news, and the class turned to listen. It consisted of the anchors talking about the six month anniversary from the Tidal Wave (a reminder Peter really didn't want or need) but also of the class field trip to Europe funded by Stark Industries.

It was something Tony had said he was doing for Peter, to give him "a bit of a break from all this" as his mentor had said. It was a sentiment Peter definitely appreciated in light of everything that had happened.

A couple weeks in Europe, with no worries, no responsibilities to deal with, and just a chance to be a normal teenager for a little while. He didn't regret being Spider-Man of course, but right now, he just wanted a break from being a superhero.

"So, are you ever going to tell me what happened?" Peter was drawn out of his musings at the whispered question, and turned to his best friend Ned Leeds with a raised eyebrow. "About, y'know, everything that happened six months ago?"

"I'd really rather not." Peter sighed. This wasn't the first time Ned had asked that question. "It really wasn't a fun experience."

"What are you two dorks whispering about?" It was MJ, who was looking at them with a typically underwhelmed expression on her face.

"Just-just talking about the trip." Peter replied hurriedly. "Y'know, just what we're going to do in Europe."

MJ's eyes narrowed, seemingly not believing them, but happily the bell rang before the conversation could continue. As the class filed out, Ned took the hint and the two of them discussed what they planned to do in Europe for real.

Peter continued the conversation as well, briefly glancing over his shoulder at MJ as she headed in the opposite direction. For a moment, she looked over her shoulder at him and their eyes met for a split second, a surprisingly soft expression on her face.

Then she turned away quickly and melted back into the crowd around her, and a brief snapping of Ned's fingers made him realize that he had apparently spaced out in their conversation.

"You alright, man?"

"Yeah." Peter said hurriedly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Ok..." Ned trailed off before speaking again. "So, I was thinking..."

Peter kept listening to his best friend, trading back and forth with him as usual, though somewhat more distantly as he considered what else he wanted to do in Europe. Having more time to hang out with MJ was already something he was looking forward to, but now there was something else he wanted to talk to her about.

* * *

**Alright, and that's where we end this chapter. We're definitely going to start off a bit slowly here, but things will progress rapidly, I can promise that much. That said, I'm not sure how well I did with them here, so if anyone has any tips to better write romance, I'd be happy to hear them.**

**With that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.**


	2. Europe

**Alright, and here's the next chapter. Now, this does technically follow Far From Home's basic premise (what with Peter's class on a trip to Europe), but due to the completely different situations, there are going to be a number of differences.**

**First of all, there's no Brad Davis because A) there was no Snap, so he's still five years younger and B) fuck that douchebag. Secondly, Mysterio's not active now since Tony's still alive, so the class actually has a fairly uneventful trip.**

**That said, some of the events with Peter and MJ do play out similarly, with Peter buying the Black Dahlia necklace in Venice and planning to give it to her in Paris. How does that go? Well, read on to find out.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the MCU or anything else that appears in this story.**

* * *

It should've been easy.

They were in Paris, the city of lights and romance. He had bought the Black Dahlia necklace for her in Venice. All he had to do was give to her and just confess the truth. Tell her how he felt. That's all he had to say...

Damn it, why was this so hard? Fighting Thanos had felt less anxiety inducing, hell, it almost made fighting the Flood again sound appealing. Maybe that was the problem... Paris wasn't just the city of romance anymore. It was also where several prominent Avengers had died.

It was where they had all made a final stand against the Flood during the Tidal Wave. Peter had thought that he had at least managed to get those memories under control, but everywhere he looked, he couldn't help but get a reminder of the nightmare that had occurred here.

It didn't help that there were more than a few reminders. Most of the damage had been repaired to the city, but there did seem to be fewer people. And there were more than a few memorial sites and graffiti art for Captain America, Hulk and Hawkeye.

The class had briefly stopped by a couple of sites to pay their respects, and while they were, Peter thought he saw MJ watching him, though she turned her gaze away whenever he looked back at her.

Putting those thoughts aside, Peter tried to maintain a calm facade, hoping beyond hope that he wasn't too obvious about it. So, instead he waited until they got to the Eiffel Tower, just like his original plan.

By a stroke of luck, the class had found a time where the Eiffel Tower was surprisingly light on tourists, something Peter suspected that Tony had a hand in. Even better, he managed to find a secluded spot at the top of the tower where he and MJ could talk privately, away from the rest of the class.

"Oh yeah," She was saying, looking around the tower and at the view to the city below. "Definitely a mind control device."

Peter let out a brief chuckle at that, partially because it actually sounded plausible (after everything he'd seen, he wouldn't discount anything anymore), but mostly because it was just so... MJ.

He really liked that about her, liked everything about her. She was intelligent, beautiful, funny (even if was a little dark at times) and not afraid to speak her mind. And while he couldn't be certain, he thought that she liked him as well, even if they were both being awkward about it.

Well, now was definitely the moment of truth. Once they were in a secluded spot where the rest of the class couldn't interrupt, the two of them just looked out over the Paris skyline, before Peter spoke up.

"MJ, there's something I want to talk to you about." He reached for the metal tin in his pocket containing the Black Dahlia. "I had this whole plan and I wrote it down and now we're..." Realizing he was rambling, Peter trailed off at her expectant look. "I'm just going to say it."

He pulled out the container in his hands, and lowered his gaze, far too nervous to meet hers as he started.

"MJ, I-"

"Am Spider-Man."

Peter froze, his eyes going to hers as his brain went into overdrive. She had a typical MJ stare on her face, not angry or accusing, simply a statement of fact. At any other time, he would have almost melted into that gaze. Now though, his mind was racing, the word "Crap" repeating and echoing in his brain.

"That's what you were going to say, right?" She continued with a shrug, though her expression became noticeably less stoic.

"No, that's-that's not what I was going to say at all." His mouth immediately went into denial mode as his brain struggled to catch up and formulate a plan.

"I mean," MJ shrugged with a nervous grin on her face. "It's kinda obvious."

"I'm-I'm not Spider-Man."

"Right," She chuckled awkwardly. "I've been watching you for a while and... it's pretty obvious."

"I'm-I'm not-"

"What about Washington?" She quickly countered. "You vanished right in the middle of the trip."

"I was sick!" He protested, before his brain latched onto something else in the conversation. "Wait, you were watching me?" Hope flickered at those words, in spite of the conversation not going at all like he planned.

"Well yeah." She stated quickly. "I wanted to see if my theory was right."

Hope flickered and died at those words, but Peter still kept up the denial out of habit at this point.

"I'm-I'm not Spider-Man..." He trailed off with a sigh, looking at the ground and the tin in his hands, before looking back up. He had to ask.

"Were you only watching me because you thought I was Spider-Man?"

She looked down at her feet with a downcast expression before looking up again. Her response caused his heart to sink.

"Of course. Why else would I be watching you?"

...

She regretted it the instant those words came out of her mouth. She regretted it even before those words emerged, but she couldn't stop herself. The barriers she put up were damn near impossible to remove, and her difficulties getting close to people reared their heads once again.

She wanted to take it back immediately, especially when his expression looked like he had just been stabbed through the heart but the words just wouldn't come. Inwardly, she cursed herself. She always valued honesty, isolating herself because of it, but now the one time she wanted, no, needed to be honest about how she felt, she just couldn't say it.

"I don't know." Peter sighed, not even looking at her. "I just thought that..." He shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

He looked at her again, and the hurt in his eyes was palpable. She could see herself reflected in his eyes and found the same hurt to be an almost exact mirror of what he was feeling. Peter started to turn away, but MJ couldn't take it anymore. One way or another, she needed to fix this.

"Wait!" Peter turned, the question on his face, but once again MJ found the words lacking.

Damn it. She had never been the greatest at opening up to people, but with Peter here, and now, she couldn't let this chance slip by. The words refused to make themselves heard, so she decided to take the plunge and show him: MJ grabbed Peter by the collar of his shirt and kissed him.

It wasn't long by any means, more of a quick peck on the lips, but it got the point across. Peter's expression went from forlorn to confused yet hopeful, a small smile growing on his face.

"I'm not the best at... getting close to people. So I lied." A shy smile appeared on hers, and it seemed that was enough to loosen her own tongue. "That's... not the only reason I was watching you..."

Peter gave a small grin, the sheer joy on his face almost melted her heart. A happy chuckle emerged from his own lips, causing her to follow suit.

"That's-that's really good." He said, both adorably nervous and happy. Jolting as if just remembering, he held out the metal tin he'd been carrying. "I got this for you."

With a look of curiosity, she opened the tin and found a necklace inside, a Black Dahlia, just like the murder. MJ couldn't help but grin as she realized this was clearly why he had sneaked away in Venice, and the thing he hadn't wanted her to see.

"Thank you." She said, a smile once more growing on her face and refusing to leave no matter how hard she tried. "I really like it."

"I really like you." He said happily, and his smile was just so infectious.

"I really like you, too."

Right here, right now, this moment just felt small and theirs. The rest of the class didn't matter, the rest of the world didn't matter. MJ didn't know what to do, and for once, she was kinda glad of that. The boy she liked just admitted that he liked her back, they had just kissed, and he had given her a necklace that he knew she loved.

Sadly, the moment had to come to an end. It was basically dusk at this point, and as always, the Eiffel Tower lit up with a pattern of flashing lights. Peter briefly pulled back, his face having a brief flash of panic before he managed to calm himself. MJ however, was quick to notice.

"Are you alright?" At any other time, she would've immediately backtracked and said something cutting and sarcastic after hearing the concerned tone in her voice. Not this time.

"I'm-I'm fine." Peter sighed after a moment, looking away from the flashing lights. "Just- just remembering the last time I was in Paris."

It took a split second for the implications of that statement to hit her. But once it did, she looked at Peter with new and wide eyes.

"Wait. You really are Spider-Man?" She asked quickly. "You're not joking?"

"Wha-no?" Peter's eyes widened. "You just- you just said you knew!"

"Ok yeah." MJ started, her mouth moving faster than her brain. "I was actually only 67% sure."

Peter groaned as he realized that he had just given away his secret identity, but MJ barely noticed given how her mind had taken off at a million miles at hour, racing as she considered this new information.

This... this was huge. Peter Parker was Spider-Man. A thousand questions immediately ran through her mind, but as she looked at her friend (boyfriend? Were they dating now or what?), MJ managed to stifle most of them... except for one.

"So... you were here? With the Avengers, when they-"

"Yeah." Peter cut her off with another sigh, turning towards the edge of the tower to look out over the skyline. MJ followed his gaze and mirrored his pose as he leaned against the railing.

"So... you fought them." She knew that she really shouldn't be pressing, especially given how he was looking out at the city, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Those Flood and that... whatever voice-"

"The Gravemind."

"Seriously?" MJ barely contained a snort in spite of the subject matter. "Who came up with that name?"

"I think it did." The tiniest hint of a smirk appeared on Peter's lips, but it quickly vanished as he kept talking. "And yeah, I was here. We all were. The Republic was evacuating people, but the Flood cut everything off with the Tidal Wave." He grimaced as the memory came over him, with MJ only capable of imagining what he had seen. "It... wasn't pleasant."

As he spoke, the memories flooded back like their namesake. All of it rushing back. That thing spoke in rhymes, it should've been funny. But the words, the tone, the sheer venom as it spoke strangled any humorous thoughts in their crib. Just the voice was enough to give people nightmares, never mind everything else that happened.

But it was clearly far worse for Peter. She and the rest of New York had only gotten to see how bad the Tidal Wave was by the end, and it was halted before it could reach them. But Spider-Man had been in the thick of it from beginning to end.

"I didn't know if anyone would make it." MJ said after a moment.

"I _knew_ no one would." Peter said quietly, his voice almost a whisper. "If they, if the Republic and Separatist leaders, hadn't done what they did... we wouldn't have stopped them. Nothing would've stopped them."

By the end of his brief recounting, Peter looked several years older. His eyes just looked haunted, staring out into the Parisian skyline. Without another word, MJ pulled him into a hug, one he reciprocated. They stood like that for a moment, just taking in each other's presence.

"Sorry." Peter sighed after a moment. "It's not a fun memory."

"It's fine." She said as softly as she could. "You've been through a lot."

"I just wish I could forget it."

"I don't think that's possible." She was speaking for both herself and Peter at this point. "But maybe... maybe we can make some new memories." MJ suggested, pulling back slightly and causing Peter to give her a questioning look. Well there was nothing for it.

Grabbing his collar, MJ pulled him against the wall, pressing her lips to his. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer while her hands tangled in the back of his hair. Their kiss quickly evolved into a full blown make out session.

When they finally pulled away, Peter was smiling, one that MJ felt definitely matched her own, all thoughts of their previous conversation forgotten. This was the moment she'd been pining for for a long time now, and it felt like her face was going to break from all the smiling she was doing. Inevitably though, it had to end.

"We should probably get back-" MJ said after a moment, causing Peter to look around and realize the class had moved on.

"Oh- yeah, yeah." Dorky Peter was back, making MJ smile in spite of herself. "Yeah, everyone's probably wondering where we are."

Reluctantly, the new couple broke apart and met up with the rest of their class again, with Flash inevitably insulting Peter while Ned briefly met up with him to talk about something else regarding him and Betty.

As always, MJ found herself gravitating towards the back of the class away from all the socializing individuals. But as they began making their way down the Eiffel Tower elevator, she found Peter gravitating next to her.

Few words were exchanged, instead their hands silently found each others, fingers interlocking and clasping tightly as the two shared silent glances. They kept it that way all the way back to the hotel.

...

The rest of the trip passed by in what felt like a blur to MJ. They traveled around Europe, stopped by museums, had some experiments with the science equipment within. And it was all very exciting for the others, but the moments that really stuck out to her were all the moments she and Peter could steal together.

Sadly, there weren't too many of those, considering how busy the rest of the trip made them. But she caught his eye whenever she could, and her heart fluttered every time he smiled at her. Whenever she couldn't, she simply played around with the Black Dahlia on her neck, a necklace she refused to take off at this point.

Eventually though, they were set to take the next flight home to New York. And unlike Peter's first attempt on the flight here, he was much more successful in maneuvering the seating arrangements so that he and MJ were sitting next to each other.

"Hi." He said with a shy smile as she stowed her luggage underneath her seat.

"Hi." She echoed as she sat down down next to him, their hands finding each other's by instinct.

Seven hours back to New York city more than made up for the lack of time they were really able to spend with each other in Europe. They spent most of the time watching movies, talking to each other about various topics, a couple of kisses and one makeout session, before Peter eventually grew tired and ended up sleeping on her shoulder.

MJ gave her new boyfriend a fond smile as she thought about what the last couple weeks had been like. There was still a degree of awkwardness between them. Neither of them had ever actually been in a relationship before, and navigating this was new, exciting, and frankly, kinda terrifying.

She still had a lot of questions. The fact that her boyfriend (Boyfriend! It was still hard to believe) was also a superhero practically begged for hundreds of questions. Even with her previous suspicions, the fact that he was actually Spider-Man would take some getting used to.

Truth be told, she knew there were a lot of things she'd have to get used to now. The world was changing, existence having been altered to an irreversible degree. She knew that being Spider-Man's girlfriend would come with a lot of complications, big and small.

But here, right now, with his hand in hers and sleeping soundly with his head on her shoulder, she didn't care. With tired eyes, she leaned against his head and drifted off. Here and now, this was all she wanted.

* * *

**Alright, and that's the end of this chapter. Honestly, the scene of them at the bridge was just so perfect in Far From Home that I don't think anything else could top it. I certainly don't think this could, but hopefully it's not a terrible substitute.**

**Naturally, there are going to be a few differences from here on out, especially with Far From Home's plot being non-existent, plus the multiverse of my stories continues to beckon, but rest assured, we're definitely going to get more of these two going forward.**

**With that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.**


	3. Three Firsts (and One Second)

**Alright, and now we begin the next chapter. Really, it's mostly going to be fluff, focusing on three different points during their relationship. Because of this, there will obviously be some time skips involved, but it will definitely stay centered on the two of them.**

**Do bare in mind, I don't exactly have all that much knowledge regarding locations in New York, so if I get things wrong about the geography, I can only apologize. With that said, let's dive right in, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the MCU or anything else that is referenced in this story.**

* * *

First Date

Technically their first date had happened in Paris, or even before that during the trip to Europe, but what the two of them considered to be their first real date happened after they got back home to New York.

It certainly was not a typical one. With MJ aware of his secret identity, she and Peter planned around that and he couldn't deny that he was rather giddy with excitement as he swung through the streets of Manhattan, taking a few selfies and texting his girlfriend on the way there.

Eventually, he reached the meeting point the two had agreed upon, near the former Avengers tower and off the bridge that the Avengers had first assembled upon so long ago. Peter swung down to meet her, swinging off a lamppost in front of MJ, who was walking down a quiet street as dusk approached. A brief smile appeared on MJ's face as her superhero boyfriend expertly landed in front of her, costume and all.

"Sorry I'm late." He said quickly, as MJ felt her cheeks burning.

"It's fine." She said quickly, her stoic facade crumbling into warmth just being so close to him.

"Are you ready for this?"

"Yeah." She nodded, feeling adrenaline pump into her veins from what they were going to do.

"You're going to love this." Peter said as she closed the small gap between them. "Just hold onto me."

"Oh, gladly." She teased, and though she couldn't see his face, MJ could definitely tell his face was turning as red as his mask when she wrapped her arms and legs around him, with his right arm around her back.

The plan had been simple: Peter would take her webslinging to a rooftop that had been set up with a small picnic well in advance. Peter had been perfectly fine with a more normal date, but MJ had requested the more unusual method of travel, something he had been more than happy to agree to.

She had honestly been curious what it was like in his shoes, to see how it would feel to be swinging between the skyscrapers of New York. The fact that it gave her an excuse to hold him tightly was also a bonus.

She was seriously regretting her mindset now.

Swinging between buildings certainly had a thrill to it, but it was far more harrowing than she would've initially thought. Being so high up above the ground, with nothing but a line of webbing between them and going splat on the pavement.

Her boyfriend didn't mind that, but then again, he could shrug off getting a building dropped on his head. She couldn't, and as much as it felt really good to hold Peter in her arms, her grip became extremely tight.

"You alright?" It took MJ a moment to realize that he had stopped swinging, and that they were back on solid ground (or rather, roof), and she let go, her muscles still tense.

"Whoo yeah." She took a deep breath. "Just... never, never doing that again. I'm never doing that again."

"Well, we're here." Peter said, gesturing to the picnic set up around them.

It was fairly simple, a blanket and a bag with food enough to tide them over. The location itself was rather stunning, with an impressive view of the New York skyline. Even after everything Peter had seen, Manhattan simply took his breath away, every time, especially from up here, which was something he wanted to share with MJ.

"Not bad, Spider-Man." MJ had a smile on her face as she looked around, her gaze turning to Peter as he pulled his mask off. "Not bad at all."

"Shall we?" Peter gestured to the blanket with a smile on his face.

...

There had still been the slightest bit of awkward tension between the two, especially in such a new relationship, but as dusk turned to night, the tension melted away with the laughter of two teenagers in love.

They ate and just talked about anything and nothing that came to mind, with Peter having a lot of superhero stories that he was far more willing to talk about now. He had some impressive ones, MJ had to admit, as well as quite a few funny ones.

"So wait, all that effort, and you just got pulled out a window by Falcon's drone?"

"Give me a break, it was my first time with that suit." Peter defended lamely. "And anyway, that was hardly the most embarrassing thing to happen in that fight."

"If you say so." MJ chuckled, looking out into the bright skyline around New York. Unconsciously, her hand found his. "I am really glad you're okay."

"Same here." Peter whispered, drawing her gaze to his face, watching her.

Nothing else was said for the moment, as the two of them enjoyed a companionable silence. Shortly afterward, MJ's head was on Peter's shoulder, her arm around his waist, and his arm around her own shoulders.

Peter was loving every minute of this: No crimes to stop, no Avengers missions, nothing to draw him away. It was just him and MJ, alone together on the best view of New York city. He was content.

Eventually, it became late enough that the two of them knew that they would have to get back. Peter at least made an effort to make the swing back less harrowing, but it was still rather frightening. Still, that fear melted away with a long and deep kiss goodnight, and MJ watched Peter swing away, her heart fluttering in her chest.

...

Their second date had been a bit more eventful. A simple romantic walk around Central Park had sadly been cut short when Peter had to get called away to deal with a prison break.

MJ kept watch for him under the shadow of a tree as he changed into his Spider-Man costume, only briefly pausing to sneak a peek as Peter took his shirt off. Her heart fluttered and her cheeks flushed as she saw him clad in only his boxers before pulling on his costume.

Once he was changed, she turned around to look at him, almost completely unrecognizable in his red and blue outfit. He looked at his clothes that were scattered all around him, the thought on his mind clear.

"Um..."

"I can take these with me." MJ offered, answering his unspoken query.

"Great, thanks." Peter looked towards where he needed to go, then looked back at MJ for a second. "Wish me luck."

"Peter, wait." He paused mid-step, just about to leap into the air as he turned back to her. Without another thought or second-guessing herself, MJ quickly walked up to him, pulled up the lower half of his mask and kissed him on the lips. "Good luck."

Peter briefly had a small surprised smile on his face before he pulled his mask back down and bounded away, swinging through the trees before reaching the busy streets of New York.

MJ watched him go, refusing to take her eyes off his retreating form until he was completely out of sight. Then she turned to pick up his clothes, all while desperately trying to ignore the pit in her stomach.

He would be alright. She knew that much. He had obviously done this a million times before and faced far worse than some lowly prison break. He would be fine, obviously. She kept repeating that in her mind, hoping that she could believe it.

She had always worried for his safety before, especially when she was 67% sure he was Spider-Man, but now that worry had been amplified to a whole new level. It felt like a black pit made of fear had formed in her heart, and it wouldn't let go no matter how hard she tried.

There obviously was no point in hanging around in the middle of Central Park now, so MJ started making her way back to his apartment, with his clothes in hand. By the time she made it to the outside of his building, Peter was already there, landing in the alleyway behind the apartment.

"Oh my god." MJ ran up to the battered Spider-Man, who's costume had suffered serious damage. "What the hell happened?!"

"Some of the prisoners got their hands on some heavy weapons." Peter replied, as he pulled off his mask, panting slightly as he did. "That was... not fun."

MJ's hands cupped his face as she looked over him: Peter was sweaty and had a prominent cut on his cheek, one he didn't have earlier. There was the slightest trace of a limp and his costume was covered in bullet holes and scorch marks, though thankfully none of them had penetrated his skin.

Without another word, MJ pulled Peter into her embrace, holding him as close as she possibly could. Ignoring the blood and sweat, she breathed him in, holding and comforting Spider-Man as best as she could.

...

Eventually, they made it up to his room, with Peter insisting that May not see how bad things were. Fortunately, she was out of the apartment, allowing Peter to clean himself up with MJ waiting outside his bathroom as he did so.

Eventually he came back out, looking a lot more presentable and less bloody than he had a few minutes ago. He blushed and smiled upon seeing MJ sitting on his bed, who returned the sentiment with a grin of her own.

"Are we moving too fast now?" Peter had to ask, only partially joking. "Because I'm not sure if this is stepping over some boundary or something."

"It's cute that you think I'd know." MJ admitted, before her smile faded. "Peter... why didn't you want to tell May?"

"I didn't want to worry her." He sighed, walking over to the bed and sitting next to her, their hands instinctively finding each other's. "I know she's cool with me being Spider-Man, it's just..."

"You don't want her to be worried." MJ replied for him, turning to look at him and cupping his cheek, bringing his face to look at hers. "She's going to worry no matter what. We all do. Her, Ned, me. Every time you go out there, run headlong into danger..." She blinked away tears that were forming in her eyes. "Not knowing if you'll come back..."

"MJ." Peter's heart fell when he saw her like this. On one hand, she was opening up more than he had ever seen from her before, but on the other hand, the subject wasn't one he had wanted to burden her with.

"Why?" She asked without thinking, her mouth working faster than her brain. "Why you?"

"It's who I am." Peter said with a sigh. "I can't walk away, not now, certainly not after..." The words were left unsaid, but MJ knew exactly what he was talking about. He had told her everything about how he got his powers.

Peter had known this would inevitably come up sooner or later. And while he had hoped he could have more time, it was probably better to have this conversation early, even if it meant their relationship ended before it really began.

"If you wanted to walk away..." Peter couldn't meet her eyes. "I wouldn't hold it against you." MJ cupped his cheek in response, drawing his gaze to hers.

"I knew what I was getting into, Peter." Cupping his chin, she pulled his lips to hers and kissed him softly, before pulling back and gazing into his eyes again. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I was kinda hoping you'd say that." He admitted, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his forehead to hers. A soft smile appeared on her face.

"You're stuck with me, Spider-Man."

...

First Time

They had been together for over a month when they both felt ready to take the next step. Granted, it hadn't been planned that way. Peter had stopped by one evening after being out on patrol, something he often did whenever he could get the chance.

MJ always looked forward to that, keeping her bedroom window unlocked so that he could come in whenever he wanted. Sometimes they would just talk, sometimes they would make out, and sometimes they would just lay on her bed together and enjoy each other's company.

It was a similar night tonight, with Peter in his Spider-Man suit sans mask, and MJ simply wearing sweatpants and a tank top. They were just sitting on the edge of her bed, talking about nothing important. The window was open and warm air entered the apartment, along with the sounds of New York city.

They had kept things slow in this regard, but obviously the temptation was there. They were hormonal teenagers after all, Peter's desire for MJ, and her desire for him was becoming close to unbearable. The heat of that night wasn't helping.

If they were asked to recall later, neither would remember who made the first move. All Peter knew was that MJ was kissing him hard, pressing her body close to his and his non-mechanical webshooter started to feel uncomfortably strained against his skin tight suit.

Without consciously thinking, he pressed himself against her, causing her to break off the kiss with a gasp. "Off." She said, causing Peter to back away and loosen his grip on her hips.

"I'm so sorry." Peter gasped, trying to pull away, but MJ's hands remained glued to his back.

"Not that." With those words, she pulled one hand away from his back and slapped the Spider-symbol on his chest, causing it to slacken. "Take the suit off."

"MJ." His eyes widened as he gazed into hers. He couldn't say anything else.

"C'mon dork, don't keep me waiting." In spite of her confident tone, he could see that she was still nervous, but more with anticipation than anxiety. She pulled him closer again, pushing back against his waistline and causing him to groan.

"I want this, Peter." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she ground against him, bringing another soft moan tumbling from his lips. "And I know you've been thinking about this as much as I have."

"Are you sure?" Peter's voice became more confident, but there was still a degree of hesitation. He wouldn't act unless she was certain. "We don't have to."

"I want this, Peter." She repeated and started pulling down the now slack suit herself. "I want everything."

Desire racing through his veins, Peter helped MJ take the suit off, leaving him in only his boxers, as she straddled and kissed him again. Not wanting to be idle, Peter reached for the hem of her shirt, pulling it up to her waist and forcing her to break the kiss as she pulled the shirt off.

She hadn't been wearing a bra, so Peter couldn't help but stare at the half naked form of his girlfriend on his lap. Her cheeks flushed as her boyfriend looked at her, then gasped as his hands found her hips and began sliding up towards her chest.

"Is this alright?" He asked, his gaze turning to her eyes.

"It's great." She whispered, grinding against him. "Really, really great."

A low moan emerged from his mouth which MJ was quick to swallow with her own mouth. She kissed him hard, their tongues battling for dominance as Peter simultaneously worked to remove her sweatpants, which she then kicked off once they were low enough.

A thought occurred to her for a moment as MJ broke off the kiss, and something in her expression must have captured it on her face, as Peter looked confused and nervous, withdrawing his hands from her body.

"Is everything alright?"

"Have you ever... you know?" MJ asked. "Done this before?"

"No, no! Obviously not." Peter said, before a similar look of curiosity came over him. "Have-have you?"

"No." MJ admitted, crossing her arms nervously.

"We don't have to do this." Peter said. "We can stop right now."

"Do you want to?" MJ asked, then quickly clarified. "Keep going, I mean."

"Oh, I definitely want to." He admitted, running his hands over her arm, causing her to shiver. "But I don't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable."

"You could never make me uncomfortable." She grasped his hands in hers, pulling them to her hips again.

...

First "Those three words"

They had been dating for a while now. Peter and MJ had tried to keep it secret from their class, at least for a while, but the news inevitably came out rather quickly when Betty ended up gossiping it. Not that either of them were expecting otherwise, but the teasing could get annoying, especially from Flash.

Still, that at least meant that they didn't really have to bother trying to hide it anymore, and the two of them spent every free period together. When they weren't and when Peter had to go out as Spider-Man, she found herself longing for him far beyond what she had felt before.

MJ had often been absentmindedly playing with the Black Dahlia necklace whenever she wasn't with Peter. She almost never took it off either, wearing it everywhere she went. Several months later, and MJ still couldn't believe how lucky she was.

She loved how his eyes lit up every time he saw her, how he looked like he had just won the lottery every time he looked at her. How her heart would beat just a little bit faster when they held hands, how easy it was to just be her true self whenever she was alone with him. He made her laugh and smile far more than any other person had before.

She had never been good at expressing her emotions, but there was just something about Peter Parker that made her lower her guard. She could let herself be vulnerable around him, and he in turn would do the same with her.

Peter had told her more about his life with Spider-Man, sharing things with her that not even Ned knew about. She in turn, could speak to him about anything, without fear of being judged by him.

All her quirks, her passions, all the things that had made her an outcast at school, including things no one else knew about. Peter didn't recoil away from any of them, he loved her for who she was.

And she loved him. That much she knew. They'd only been dating for a few months, but she knew that was how she felt. And MJ was certain he felt the same way. After all, he wore his heart on his sleeve while she was always a bit more reserved.

So it came as a surprise to both of them when she said it first.

It wasn't something dramatic. It wasn't caused by him gasping for breath and her struggling to keep him awake after a deadly battle. It wasn't from her being wounded in the crossfire of another superhero fight. It wasn't their dying words or anything tragic like that.

They were in his apartment, with May having already left to go on a date with Happy Hogan (Peter was still a little miffed about his Aunt's love life), just watching a movie and enjoying each other's company.

Peter had his arm around her shoulders while MJ leaned her head into his shoulder, cuddling against him. This had the side benefit of letting her run her hand over her boyfriend's chest, feeling the abs beneath his t-shirt.

They both knew that they probably wouldn't get to the end of the movie before they started making out, which would inevitably become so much more. It wasn't the first time and it definitely wouldn't be the last.

He had just made some stupidly endearing joke about what had happened in The Shining as they were watching it. She found herself laughing with him in spite of the horror film they were watching. Then without thinking, without consideration, she spoke her feelings right there.

"God, I love you."

MJ froze. Peter froze. Before Peter could properly react, MJ had disentangled herself from him on instinct, standing up from the couch with wide eyes. Peter was still frozen, staring at her with shock, which she couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing.

The words had slipped out like it was the most natural thing in the world. And yet she found that she didn't regret saying them at all. Though her boyfriend's silence was a bit disconcerting. At any other time, she might've laughed at the expression on his face, but now she felt the need to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Peter, I-" She didn't have a chance to say anything else.

Quickly standing up, Peter closed the distance between them and kissed her, pulling her close against him. She responded instinctively, one arm wrapping around his waist while the other went to the back of his neck. The world felt small and theirs as all the emotion between them was captured against both of their lips.

Eventually they had to break apart for air if nothing else, but there was only an inch separating their mouths, as MJ leaned her forehead against his. So many words flew around in her brain, but she held her tongue, waiting for him to speak first.

"I love you." He said against her lips. "I love you right back." A soft and relieved smile appeared on MJ's face as he said that.

"I love you too." The certainty in her words almost surprised her, but as she spoke them, she knew them to be the only truth.

She loved Peter Parker, and he loved her. Here, in this moment, that was the only thing that mattered. They kissed again, their hearts beating in rhythm as they held each other close, neither ever wanting to let go.

Everything else just melted away.

* * *

**Alright, and that's the end of this chapter. It ended up being longer than I thought it would, though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, considering it covers several different events. Anyway, the next chapter will have a bit more of a noticeable tie-in to my story Shattered Destinies, but I'll add more in that in the next chapter.**

**With that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.**


	4. Shadows in the night

**Alright, and so we shall begin the next chapter. Now, fair warning, there's an event that takes place here that crosses over with my other story "Shattered Destinies". So, if you want more context and detail about what's happening here, go read chapter 8 of that story. With that said, let's dive right in, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the MCU or any other franchise that appears in this story.**

* * *

It was a rather beautiful night in the city of Manhattan, as it often was. The city that never slept was lit up just as much as it normally was, bringing crowds of tourists from all over the globe. Even with all the alien and multiversal stuff going on these days, New York still remained a tourist hotspot.

MJ scanned the street, looking around to make sure she wasn't being followed. Once she was reasonably sure, she ducked into a darkened alleyway, making sure that no creeps were lurking within as she looked around.

"You look amazing."

MJ could barely keep herself from jumping out of her skin as she spun around to the voice behind her. Her dork of a boyfriend was hanging upside down in front of her, clad in the Iron Spider suit. His nanotech mask retracted in an eyeblink, leaving his sheepish yet grinning face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Peter blushed, stuttering as MJ's heart just calmed slightly.

"It's fine." Cupping his face, MJ kissed him softly. "How was your patrol?"

"Stopped a mugging and someone holding up a convenience store." Peter expertly flipped over to the right way up, his nanotech suit retracting as he spoke. "Really, you'd think criminals would learn at this point."

"Well, no one accused criminals of being smart." MJ pointed out, taking her boyfriend's hand in hers. "Anyway, shall we?"

"After you." Peter grinned.

The two of them had decided to simply spend a night on the town, especially after the stress of high school was finally coming to a close. They had finished their finals, and were already looking for colleges to apply to.

Peter already had the ear of Tony Stark, so that wouldn't be much of a problem. Still, neither of them felt like talking about the stress of college right now, especially as the summer air started to creep in. And of course, MJ wanted to spend as much of that summer as she could with her superhero boyfriend.

Looking back, if she had told her past self that she would be here, at this point in time, with the guy she loved, teenage MJ probably would have laughed in her face. Yet here she was: Peter Parker was cute, adorable, funny (even when he wasn't trying to be), intelligent and extraordinarily brave. Falling in love with him was surprisingly easy.

There were plenty of people who would do anything to date a superhero, including people who wanted Spider-Man, and they'd obviously be jealous if they knew she was his girlfriend, but MJ had fallen in love with Peter Parker long before she had ever known he was Spider-Man. And now she couldn't stay away.

Of course, there were some drawbacks to dating a superhero. Like right now, as the radio in his ear began beeping. MJ looked at him with a raised eyebrow as his face became crestfallen.

"I'm sorry, I got to take this." Peter said, turning away as he pressed his finger to the earpiece. "Mr. Stark?"

"There's been a situation in Wakanda." Tony said quickly. "Apparently one of the Republic's old enemies attacked the country and nearly killed the Queen Mother and Princess."

"That's horrible." Peter paused, confused. "But... why are you calling me?"

"Because the Republic suspect that he'll be heading for Doctor Strange next." Iron Man replied, his tone making it clear that this wasn't up for discussion. "I need you to head to the New York Sanctum and keep an eye on it until I get there."

"Understood." Peter turned off the radio with a heavy sigh, then turned back to MJ, who had a concerned look on her face.

"Let me guess, something came up?" She wasn't angry or upset, though there was a sense of worry on her face.

"Something big just happened in Wakanda and they think whatever it is might be coming for New York." Peter explained quickly, then sighed again. "MJ, I'm sorry-"

She cut him off with a kiss, her hands cupping his face as his instinctively curled around her waist. It ended all too soon and they broke apart, with MJ giving him a soft smirk.

"Don't worry about me." She gently prodded his chest. "Go save the world, Spider-Man."

Peter nodded and ran off into a nearby alleyway, with Spider-Man swinging out of it seconds later. MJ watched him go, her smirk vanishing as a forlorn expression appeared in its place.

...

Peter immediately swung in the direction of the Sanctum, weaving through the streets of New York with practiced ease. All the while, he reconnected the link with Tony, as Iron Man gave a rundown of the situation.

"The short version is that this 'Teridax' held the Queen Mother hostage to get Shuri to create a body made of that new alloy we've all been working on." Tony explained. "I'm still learning all the details myself, but whoever this guy is, he has the Republic scared shitless."

"What can this guy do that's got them so worried?" Peter asked.

"I'm looking over the list of powers they sent." Tony said distractedly. "It's quite a long one. Either way, it doesn't matter at the moment. All you need to do is keep watch for anything unusual."

"It's a Wizard's house," Peter pointed out. "Isn't everything they do unusual?"

"You know what I mean, Pete." Tony continued without pause. "Anyway, how are you and MJ doing?"

"We're doing great." Peter answered without skipping a beat, having become mostly used to his mentor's tendency to switch conversations at a moment's notice. "We're planning on spending the summer together before we have to go to college."

"That's good, keep the love alive." Tony said quietly, seemingly caught up in another conversation. "Sorry kid, I gotta go. Call me if you see anything suspicious."

"Got it."

Peter disconnected the call as he swung through the streets. For a brief moment, he considered dialing MJ back and checking in on her, but put it out of his mind. He couldn't afford to get distracted, not right now.

All too soon, Peter was merely a couple blocks away from the Sanctum, and at a high enough vantage point that he could see the skylight from his position. And through the strange symbol that decorated the Mystic building, Spider-Man could see flashes of light and what appeared to be some explosions going on inside.

Keying up his comms, Spider-Man immediately connected to FRIDAY, who put him right back in contact with Tony.

"Uh Mr. Stark? I'm seeing a light show in Strange's house. I think he's fighting someone in there."

"Thanks for the update kid, I'm on my way. In the meantime, stay put."

"But-"

"I mean it, Parker." Tony said sternly. "You're not taking on this guy alone."

With a sigh, Peter acknowledged Tony's order and turned off the comms. But mere seconds after he did that, his Spider-sense tingled, drawing Peter's attention to the street below.

One of the portals used by Strange and those weird Mystics had opened just above the street, and a weird robot came flying out, wreathed in sparks of lightning as it landed in the middle of the street, fortunately missing most of the civilians.

In the split second of this happening, Peter's mind went into overdrive as he analyzed the situation: this guy was quite big, even taller than Thanos. His body was covered in black and red, and the mask-like face was certainly reminiscent of that Mata Nui guy and all those Toa and Matoran he had seen before.

Peter couldn't be quite sure whether or not the guy was friendly or not, but he was certainly leaning toward not: he had seen all sorts of weird looking aliens with the Republic, but something about this guy just made Peter's skin crawl.

Any question as to who this guy was came to be answered in the next moment, when a car hurtling towards him halted in its track. The being didn't even spare the screaming people a second glance, nor did he care when a massive pile up was caused from his actions.

Well, that certainly settled it: presumably this was the 'Teridax' that Tony had mentioned. For a moment, Peter considered waiting for Iron Man to get here, but if this guy was as dangerous as his mentor claimed, then he couldn't just sit idly by.

Peter leapt down, kicking the robot in the back and causing it to stagger forward. Capitalizing on that momentum, Peter backflipped off and landed smoothly on a nearby lamppost.

"You lost, buddy?" The robot turned towards Spider-Man, causing Peter to gesture deeper into Manhattan. "Times Square is that way."

"Gnat." Before Peter could correct the misconception, the robot had blasted him with a stream of sound, sending him flying off the lamp and through the building behind him. The force would've liquefied the organs of a normal human, but for Spider-Man, it simply left him covered in bruises.

"Ow." Peter groaned, knowing that this wasn't going to be pleasant.

...

Michelle didn't see Peter again until the morning. She had heard what happened though. The amateur footage of the battle in the New York streets with Iron Man, Vision and Spider-Man fighting a black armored robotic titan wasn't the best view of what happened, but it captured more than enough.

He had also texted her shortly after the fight to let her know that he was fine, but that he wouldn't be able to come back until the next day. Until she could hear from him personally, all she had to go on was what she was seeing now on the screen.

She jumped when Peter tapped on her window, hanging upside down with his suit on. He had apparently forgone the Iron Spider costume today, switching back to red and blue. Pausing the TV, she walked over and opened the window, letting him crawl into her living room. He looked around the room before pulling off his mask.

"Your parents aren't home?"

"They're out." Michelle replied, narrowing her eyes. "What about you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He spoke in that same quick tone of voice when he was obviously lying. "Just-just been a little busy, that's all."

"With what?"

"Oh just had to go to an Avengers debriefing." Peter replied quickly.

"Which lasted twelve hours?" She raised an eyebrow in response.

"Yeah..." Her boyfriend answered quickly. "There was also a bit of a meeting with the Republic. Plus had to go see May-"

"What about tall, dark and gruesome?" She asked, glancing pointedly at the TV. He winced.

"I was hoping that you wouldn't see that."

"It was kinda hard to miss." MJ countered, crossing her arms. "The Avengers fighting against some kind of robot in the middle of New York? That's the thing people tend to talk about."

It hadn't been easy to watch, especially with each blow her boyfriend took. Being blasted through a building had been how the fight started for him, and it had only gotten worse from there.

"I guess I should've seen that coming." He sighed.

"Peter, I'm not angry." MJ said calmly, walking up to him. "I just wish you called me sooner."

"I didn't want to worry you." Peter protested weakly, unable to meet her gaze.

"I told you, I'm going to worry no matter what." She said, letting herself be honest with him. "I always worry every time you go out in that suit, thinking that it could be the last time I ever see you." He opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off. "I'm not asking you to retire or quit or anything like that. I just want to be kept in the loop."

"I can try." Peter said after a moment, finally looking into her eyes. "But MJ... there are some things in my life that-that you're better off not knowing about."

A stray memory flitted through MJ's mind at that statement. She had once asked him for more details about the Flood in an offhand conversation, but he had uncharacteristically kept his mouth shut and expressed a rather firm desire that he didn't want to talk about it.

He would've caved in if she really wanted to know, both of them knew that. But MJ hadn't pressed the subject, even though it was clear that he knew far more about them than he was telling. So, like then, she said nothing and simply hugged him firmly. His arms wrapped around her as they simply swayed in each other's embrace.

"I love you." It almost scared her just how easily he could say those words to her. Just as easily as she could say those words to him.

"I love you, too." She kissed him, pressing her hand on his chest. "I love all of you."

They pulled away slightly, their foreheads leaning against each other. Peter had a soft grin on his face, one that she was certain was almost an exact mirror of her own. After another moment of silence, Peter spoke again.

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know." He shook his head. "About last night anyway."

"I know." Breaking apart, MJ gestured to the paused TV screen, where it was conveniently frozen on the view of that large robot. "So, who was that guy?" She knew better than to judge a book by its cover, but everything about that thing just screamed 'I am evil.'

"Right." Peter looked around and gestured to the couch in the living room. "You might want to sit down for this."

...

It was half an hour later that he had finally finished telling her the short version of the story, one that apparently predated the Republic by a hundred thousand years. The tale Peter told was definitely an interesting one, involving millennia of history, manipulative schemes, and giant robots.

"So, let me get this straight." MJ interjected again, unsure of whether to be amused or worried. "This Makuta guy is Mata Nui's brother?"

"Yes, well... sort of." Peter scratched the back of his head. "Their concept of siblings is a bit different than ours."

"And these Great Beings (egotistical much?) gave these guys 43 different superpowers?"

"To be fair, I think some of them kinda overlap." Peter furrowed his brow as he looked at her. "Though to be honest, there are a few that kinda worry me. Like shapeshifting and telepathy..."

"Really?" MJ raised an eyebrow at him, realizing where he was going with this. "You can't believe I'm actually him."

"It would be child's play for him." Peter narrowed his eyes. "Or should I say; for you?"

"C'mon Peter," MJ shook her head in exasperation. "If this guy's really as powerful and arrogant as you say, why would he need to go to all the trouble to impersonate me?"

"It can't hurt to be cautious." Peter's smirk assured her that he wasn't actually that worried, apparently seeing her point. "So, prove to me you're not Makuta."

Grinning as she lunged at him, MJ kissed him hard, her arms around his shoulders. She pushed him back against the couch, straddling his lap as she started grinding against him. Peter groaned into her mouth as their tongues battled, his arms around her back, and she could feel him growing hard against him.

"Convinced?" She grinned as she broke the kiss.

"Very much so." Peter returned her smile.

"How about you?" She pointed out. "How do I know _you're_ not Makuta?"

Peter responded by kissing her as deeply as she had kissed him, his arms going to her jacket and pushing it off her shoulders. They rose to a sitting position before pulling themselves off the couch, their mouths practically fused together until the need for oxygen broke them apart.

"How's that?"

"I'm not 100% convinced." Her smirk never wavered as she slapped the chest of his suit, which immediately slackened. He let it fall to the floor, leaving him clad in only his boxers. "I might need some more proof."

Peter's hands gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it off. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist as they kissed again, with Peter easily able to support her weight with his strength.

"Convinced yet?"

"Not quite yet." MJ smirked as her eyes shifted to her open bedroom door. "Though I think I know how you can convince me."

Grinning, Peter carried her back to her bedroom.

* * *

**Alright, and that's the end of this chapter. So, the bulk of it had to do with the events of Makuta Teridax's open return in Shattered Destinies, though I also wanted to do the aftermath of the situation and see how Peter and MJ would react to it.**

**Fair warning, there will be more of my multiverse tie-ins going forward, with similar circumstances and results to this one. I guess it's fair to say that this is a bit of a side story to Shattered Destinies at this point, though I'll be sure to keep the focus on our two favorite nerds.**

**Anyway, with all that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.**


	5. Nightmares

**Alright then, and now we're going into the next chapter. There's definitely going to be a bit of a time skip again, just like the rest of the chapters, though I can't really say how long it'll be (possibly several months to a year).**

**And once again, this chapter will have some tie-ins to Shattered Destinies, specifically chapter 14 of that story. So if you're curious about how it ties in, go read the Spider-Man section of that chapter as well as the next two chapters. But let's dive in, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the MCU or any other franchise that appears in this story.**

* * *

_MJ was running for her life._

_She had made it out of the school, with Ned sacrificing himself to buy her a chance to escape, but there was nowhere to go. They were everywhere, overwhelming and infecting everyone they came across, twisting them into horrific monsters._

_That thing's cruel laughter could be heard all around her, all over the city as its monsters began twisting their world into a grotesque hive. Michelle didn't know where to go or what to do, only feeling an overwhelming urge to find Peter._

_She saw a mob of those little water balloon like creatures slithering on the street ahead and ducked into the side street, simultaneously avoiding the sweeping clouds of spores that started to pop up everywhere._

_She was looking behind her as she ran, and as such, failed to notice the obstacle in her path until she ran right into it, knocking her on her ass. Her heart froze when she got a good look at what was in her path._

_"No..."_

_It was him. The Spider-symbol was shredded, and cancerous yellow green growths marred the outfit even further, but there was no denying that red and blue suit, that mask on his head, which was now twisted at an unnatural angle._

_"Peter." She began crawling back on her hands as the horrific combat form loomed over her. "Peter, please!"_

_"__**We exist together now.**__" The voice was a combination of thousands, but Peter's was noticeably prominent. "__**Two corpses in one grave.**__"_

_The abomination swung its claws at her._

She woke up with a gasp, breathing heavily. Beside her, Peter shifted in his sleep, cuddled against her. She tried to calm her racing heart and stifled a groan in order to keep him from waking up.

"MJ?"

It hadn't worked. His enhanced senses had apparently noticed her shifting, and now he was awake, looking at her through the fog of sleep with a noticeable concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine." MJ replied quickly, kissing his forehead. "It was just a nightmare."

"The Flood again?"

She simply nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment. Peter pulled her closer and hugged her, letting her melt into his embrace. MJ closed her eyes to keep any potential tears from leaking out. His hand softly ran up and down her back, the warmth of his breath on her shoulder both causing her to relax, letting MJ's heartrate return to normal.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Peter whispered, so quietly she almost didn't hear him.

"Not tonight." MJ sighed. "There's not really much to talk about anyway."

He pulled back slightly, letting his forehead rest against hers and allowing her to look into his eyes. She could get lost in his gaze forever, mesmerized by all the love and emotion he held in a simple unspoken glance. It made her smile in spite of everything.

"I'm fine." She repeated, this time she felt a lot more like it was actually true. "Go back to sleep."

Peter smiled as she closed the gap and kissed him, before making herself comfortable by resting her head on his chest. She snorted inwardly at the thought that Peter was unquestionably her favorite pillow. His arms wrapped around her, one hand gently massaging her back as they lay together.

Head tucked under his chin, she listened to the beating of his heart, her constant reminder that he was alive. That he loved her. Eventually the calming beat soothed her back to sleep.

...

The next morning had been a rather busy one. After getting showered and dressed, Peter and MJ both had separate college classes they had to go to in the morning, and neither of them saw each other again until they were both back at their place.

Shortly after they had started college, the two of them had moved in together. With college and everything surrounding that, it only felt right to them. Granted, it was still a big step for the two of them, but after everything, neither Peter and MJ found themselves regretting it for an instant.

The apartment itself wasn't anything spectacular. It was relatively small and cramped, some of the appliances took way too long to turn on, and the lock on the front door was rather finicky to simply open.

But it was theirs, all theirs. No matter how bad his day went, Peter could always return to their little piece of New York. To MJ. They had been dating for years now, and the love he felt for her hadn't diminished one iota, if anything it had only grown stronger.

Her smile lit up the room every time she saw him, his heart melted with love and affection every moment he was near her. He hadn't been alive that long, and he was still young, but already Peter knew that she was the only one for him.

MJ was already waiting for him as he entered, reading another book. She smiled as Peter walked through the door, causing Peter to smile back. She marked the page she was reading and set it down as she rose to greet him.

"Hey."

"Hey." She kissed his cheek. "How was your day? How was Spanish?"

"Pretty good." Peter dropped his bag to the floor. "Had to make a brief stop over by Mr. Delmar's but it was good. What about you?"

"Class is going well." MJ replied. "Though I keep hearing people wondering why they should bother with learning a new language, given all those Republic translators that are available."

"Yeah, I heard the same thing." Peter shook his head as he started unpacking his school supplies. "And I can kinda see their point, especially considering all the alien languages on top of everything else. I mean, have you tried to comprehend the Yautja language without one?"

"No, I haven't." MJ shook her head, smiling at her dork of a boyfriend. "Which ones are the Yautja again?"

"The humanoid ones with mandibles and dreadlocks."

"Right..." MJ paused, trying to recall what Peter had told her about that species. It was admittedly difficult, given how many there were and how excited Peter was when speaking about them. "Aren't those the guys who used to hunt sapient life for sport?"

"That would be it." Peter shook his head. "They can speak English as well, but it's like hearing someone trying to speak while gargling gravel."

"Colorful." MJ smirked. "Still, even with translators, it doesn't hurt to learn any language you can."

"I'm not disagreeing." Peter raised his hands in surrender. "Anyway, we're supposed to be in Queens in the next fifteen minutes or so, so we should probably get moving."

"Ned's getting impatient?"

"Can't say I blame him." Her boyfriend replied. "This is the only period all three of us have gotten time off for. Besides, it'll be nice to do something normal."

Unsurprisingly, life after high school had kinda pushed them apart. Ned had his own separate path to go, and while Peter and MJ still kept in regular contact with him, actually seeing him in the flesh had become increasingly rare.

"C'mon Peter, when have our lives ever been 'normal'?" MJ said. "Still, I'm surprised he isn't bringing Betty along."

"He said that she still had a test to study for." Peter shook his head, putting on a fresh change of clothes in their bedroom. "Either that, or they've broken up again."

While Peter and MJ were still together, Ned and Betty had gone through a number of break ups and hook ups over and over again, ever since they first started dating in high school. Currently the two were making bets on how long their on and off again relationship would last: Peter was betting on three weeks, while MJ was betting on four.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." MJ shook her head, walking over to her boyfriend as he emerged from the bedroom before entangling her hand in his. "Anyway, let's get going."

...

Meeting with Ned had started off fairly well, all things considered. They met up at a cafe in Queens, and just talked about school and jobs and future plans. Eventually the conversation shifted to details regarding the Republic, and then to what happened before the events of the Tidal Wave.

Ned soon asked for more details regarding Peter's first trip into space, something MJ was admittedly curious about herself. She knew the basics, that a mad alien conqueror had collected these 'Infinity Stones' but he had never told them the how or why.

So Peter regaled them with his trip to Titan, explaining some of the more impressive details, as well as why Thanos wanted the Stones (turned out it was for a really stupid and insane reason regarding overpopulation), though the conversation soured when it got to the details regarding the Republic, Separatists and Flood.

Then their little get together had taken a turn for the worse. Her boyfriend ended up being chased down by six multi-colored biomechanical monsters all wielding strange staffs. And all MJ and Ned could do was run and hope that Peter would be alright.

Just before he had changed into his Spider-Man suit, he had called the creatures "Rahkshi" and as Peter later revealed, they were apparently Makuta's sons. MJ really didn't want to know the details of how that would happen.

As she soon learned, the Rahkshi he had sent after Peter had just been the start. Makuta had launched another attack, siccing an army of robot looking spiders called Visorak on Manhattan to draw the attention of the Avengers.

She didn't see her boyfriend for a while after the fact, and it was much later in the day, when Makuta's forces had finally been routed, that Peter came crawling through their bedroom window.

In that moment, they instantly had their arms around each other, holding each other so tightly that it almost hurt. MJ took comfort in the sound of his breathing, feeling the rise and fall of his chest against hers.

"Are you alright?" Peter asked immediately, his concern for her immediately palpable.

"I'm fine." MJ reassured him. "Ned's fine as well, we got away with no problems."

"Thank god." He murmured into her shoulder.

"So much for doing something normal." MJ let out a pained sigh, sniffling as they pulled out of the hug. Peter let out a small chuckle that certainly felt more forced than anything before his expression grew serious.

"MJ, I'm so sorry-" She put a finger to his lips before replacing it with her own, connecting with his in a slow, sweet kiss.

"You have nothing to apologize for." She said against his lips, drawing a relieved sigh and a soft grin from him. Even after they'd been dating for years, kissing her felt as magical as ever.

"Still, I'm just glad you're safe."

"Likewise, nerd."

They pulled back from their embrace, though their hands remained connected for a moment. With a brief nod, Peter pulled away and left for their room to get changed, quickly pulling on a fresh set of clothes before returning to the living room, where MJ was milling around waiting. She obviously had questions, though.

"So, what exactly happened?"

Once again, Peter sat down as he explained what details he knew. Teridax had apparently attacked a SHIELD facility and a defunct Roxxon facility in New Orleans, hoping (and succeeding) to steal some unique substances from both locations. He also explained that the Rahkshi had tried to kidnap him, but he had been saved from that by the Defenders.

"So the attacks on New York were just distractions?"

"It looks like it." Peter shook his head. "Makuta really wanted to make sure no one knew what he was doing."

"But he sent six Rahkshi after you, specifically. Why?"

"I'm not sure." Peter admitted. "Maybe he wanted me as leverage, maybe I just ticked him off when we first met. Then again, if he really wanted me so badly, he could've easily kidnapped me himself."

"Maybe." MJ couldn't keep the worried tone out of her voice or eyes, which Peter was quick to pick up on.

"Hey," He whispered, leaning over and grabbing her hands in his, before pulling her closer for a hug. "I'm right here." MJ took in a shuddering breath as they embraced once more, her arms wrapped tight around his back.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Eventually, they settled down to just enjoy what they could of their ruined day. Ned had been worried, yet was still alright and didn't blame Peter when he apologized for how their day had been interrupted.

As for Peter and MJ, they decided to simply spend the rest of the day lounging at their home together. They had a chance to enjoy themselves, at least until they turned the TV on, which opened to the news channel. The news report was showing just what kind of damage had been wrought by the Makuta's attack.

As MJ and Peter watched the official report, their hands found each other once more as they huddled together. Peter had a grim expression on his face, well aware that things would only get worse before they could get better.

* * *

**So that's the end of this chapter. I should mention (again) that this heavily ties into Shattered Destinies, and so will all the subsequent chapters of this story, at least until we reach the end.**

**I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and reviews are always welcome.**


	6. Worries

**Alright, time to begin the next chapter. This one follows a scene in Chapter 20 of Shattered Destinies, so go read that first if you want the context. Truth be told, there aren't going to be a whole lot of chapters left, especially as we start to approach the events marking end of Shattered Destinies.**

**I will say that I have plans for this story that go a bit further beyond that end point, though that'll be entering spoiler territory so I can't really say anymore until we get there. With that said, let's dive right in, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the MCU and blah, blah, blah, you already know the drill.**

* * *

Their morning had been a mixture of feelings and heat. Now, MJ had nothing to do but wait as Peter was off on the Ark with the Avengers, doing god knows what. He promised that he'd be back later that day, but she knew just how erratic his schedule could be.

It was supposed to be their day off, but the mandatory meeting had interrupted their plans. Of course, even before that, things had gotten a little... emotional. Peter still had the occasional nightmare, of course, and she could say the same, but now the subject of those nightmares had changed.

He had told her the first night that he was now having dreams about what would happen if those Rahkshi had successfully taken him to Makuta. Short version: he ended up under Teridax's mental control and was forced to help him conquer their world. And it always ended with Peter being commanded to kill someone he loved.

The first night it had happened, she had woken up to him crying over her. Her heart broke to hear him wracked with sobs as he clung to her, explaining that he had to watch himself kill her, and be utterly powerless to stop it.

That night had been the worst, and it was all MJ could to do to hold him tightly before he cried himself back to sleep. Peter had gotten better at managing his reactions to those dreams, but she could still see the pain in his eyes every time that nightmare reared its head.

It probably said something about how fucked up their lives were that this was the kind of thing they had to get used to. Then again, it wasn't like they were the only ones having nightmares like that: even years after the Tidal Wave, the Flood still haunted everyone's dreams.

Therapy helped, but it could only do so much, especially as the psychologists also tended to suffer from the same nightmares. MJ shook her head of that thought, trying to recapture the memory of what she and Peter had done in the time he had free before he had to go to that Republic meeting.

The memory was nice, but she couldn't sustain it, and she instead tried to pass the time by watching old movies and shows, hoping that she could keep herself distracted from thinking about her boyfriend.

It didn't work. Even while watching documentaries on historical murders, she couldn't help but miss the warmth she had when Peter was cuddled by her side as they watched it together. Absently, her hand drifted up to the Black Dahlia necklace around her neck, playing with the flower that Peter had given her all those years ago.

All in all, she was basically just waiting until she heard from Peter again. Which thankfully happened a lot earlier than she would have thought. Halfway through the day, her phone rang and MJ smiled as she saw his face on the screen.

"Hey."

"Hey. So I'm back in New York, I'll be home in about five minutes."

"Can't wait." MJ grinned as soon as Peter crawled in through the window, hugging him and kissing his cheek as he came in.

"Sorry I missed everything."

"I'm just happy you're here now." MJ said fondly, as he cupped her cheek in his hand.

...

The two of them spent the rest of the day not talking about what Peter had to do. Instead, her boyfriend was very eager to make up for lost time, especially when most of their plans for the day had been disrupted by it.

It was only when they sat down for dinner, ordering takeout to watch in front of the TV, that MJ's curiosity got the better of her and she turned to her boyfriend. Noticing out of the corner of his eye, Peter paused the TV and turned to her.

"So," MJ prompted. "What was the meeting about?"

"Classified." Peter said with a sigh.

"Really?" A raised eyebrow was her response.

"Really." Peter shook his head. "The Republic really doesn't want word of this getting out."

"Pretty please?" MJ fluttered her eyes as she leaned forward, an adorable pout on her face. Her position also made her chest more prominent, causing Peter to avert his eyes.

"Nope." He crossed his arms and looked away, causing her to sigh in disappointment.

"Fine." MJ returned back to her previous position. "Can you at least tell me something about what happened?"

He was silent for a moment, causing MJ to wonder if maybe she overstepped, before Peter spoke up again.

"It's big, MJ. Really big." He turned back to her, and a surprising expression of hope and awe appeared on his face. "It could change the tide of the war."

Peter had told her all about the events he knew of going on in the Republic, of course. The war with the First Order being the most prominent. The Avengers had been heavily tapped to deal with that, and it wasn't hard to take notice of when the heavy hitters of Iron Man, Thor and Vision had noticeable periods of absence from their Earth.

Peter had told her what details he knew, but it wasn't much. He wasn't exactly being kept up to date on every little operation the Republic was planning, but the picture he painted was telling: the Republic was winning, but only just.

"You sound certain of that." She noted, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not." Peter admitted. "But the Republic's taking it pretty seriously."

"When is it supposed to happen?"

"Soon." Her boyfriend shook his head. "We're still missing a few things."

"Like what?" She pried, hoping to at least squeeze some more info out of him.

"Can't say." He sighed again, really looking at her again. "Sorry."

"It's fine." She shook her head. "I get it, I really do."

Peter gave a soft smile and kissed her cheek. The two of them got back to the movie and put the whole conversation out of their minds for the rest of the night.

...

It was only a few days later that she learned exactly what kind of operation Peter had taken part in: a plan to capture Makuta Teridax, with the aid of some of the best warriors and heroes in the Republic.

This was the same time she learned that the plan had completely failed. According to Peter, even when blindsided, Teridax apparently brought several contingency plans that allowed him to escape.

They were once again in their apartment as Peter outlined the details of what happened and how things went wrong. There was one particular event that really rattled him, even if he wasn't present for it.

"He attacked their kids, MJ." Her boyfriend explained, a terrified look in his eyes. "He deliberately targeted their families at a playdate."

"Jesus." MJ muttered, trying to imagine the horror that those parents would be feeling. "But they made it, didn't they?"

"Thankfully." Peter sighed in relief. "But he's really not above doing something despicable like that." Peter abruptly stood up from their bed and walked over to the closet, rummaging through the messy storage before finding what he was looking for. "And that's why I want you to have these." He walked back over to her and held out both hands, each containing a familiar looking device.

"Peter, what-"

"Spare webshooters." Peter explained. "They're portable enough to bring with you, and easy enough to slip on." To demonstrate, he gently took one of her hands and placed the device on her wrist, which unfolded into place over her palm.

"Peter, I don't think-"

"Please, MJ?" His earnest expression made her hesitate before sighing.

"Fine." She took the other webshooter and put it on, looking over the two devices before looking back into Peter's earnest brown eyes. "I hope you're not expecting to try swinging around myself." Peter chuckled lightly as he grabbed her hands.

"It's just a precaution." Peter explained. "For emergencies only."

"Any advice?"

"Go for the legs." He explained softly. "If that doesn't work, go for the eyes and run as fast as you can."

"What about Ned and May?" She asked, sliding the webshooters off her hands before pocketing them.

"Oh I have something for them." He promised, grasping her hands in his again. "But I need to know that you'll be safe."

"Ok." She whispered, pulling him closer and softly kissing him.

* * *

**I apologize for the rather abrupt ending there, but I really couldn't think of how else to end it. I know this chapter is also a bit shorter than normal, but hopefully the next one will make up for that.**

**Anyway, we're approaching the end of this fic rather quickly now. So far, there are only two or three more chapters before it's done. I can't give the exact details of what's going to happen next, but I hope you'll all like it.**

**With that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.**


	7. Love and Conflict

**Alright, and now we begin the next chapter. This will be a little more action oriented, especially given the tie-ins to Shattered Destinies again. Though rest assured, our two favorite dorks are still going to be the main focus.**

**Anyway, if you've read Shattered Destinies, then you'll probably recognize what's actually happening here. I'm not giving out any more plot details for it, but suffice to say, it's a rather big moment in my story multiverse at large. But let's just dive right in, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the MCU, Bionicle, Young Justice or anything else referenced in this story.**

* * *

The day of Makuta's big attack had started fairly ordinarily. Peter had gone on patrol while MJ was at work, which gave him the perfect opportunity to run a little errand. He already knew what he wanted and where to get it.

It was in the middle of stopping a small time robbery at an old jewelry store that Peter found it. It had exactly what he was hoping for. Now it was several days later, and the aftermath of said attempted robbery had been dealt with, so he returned as Peter Parker and bought what he was hoping for.

Now, Spider-Man was swinging through the streets of New York, heading in the direction of the Avengers compound. Tony had called a meeting today, to discuss what they were going to contribute in the war against Teridax and the First Order.

Peter had called MJ to let her know that he would probably be in late today. It also meant he didn't have time to stop by their apartment and leave it there. Which was just as well, seeing as it meant that she couldn't stumble onto it before he was ready.

So he had to bring it with him and hope the rest of the Avengers didn't notice. He hadn't told any of them about his plans, not yet. He knew Mr. Stark would find some way to spoil it. Currently, May was the only one who knew what he was planning.

And maybe it was a little too early for them to be doing this. But if the last five years with the Tidal Wave and beyond had shown Peter anything, it was that this life had a good chance of being cut short at any moment. He loved MJ, there wasn't anything he was more certain of. He loved her far more than anyone in his entire life.

So all in all, despite the upcoming meeting, Peter's spirits soared as high as he did, launching himself in the air with another swing. That was when the sky darkened before a pair of red eyes lit it up.

...

The day that the Avengers Compound was destroyed had not been a fun one for Michelle. She was at work, just another average day while her boyfriend was out on patrol, blissfully unaware of what was going to happen, until it did.

It all started when the weather darkened, before Makuta's red eyes lit up the sky. His voice followed, echoing over the streets of New York, feeling like the Tidal Wave all over again. The difference this time being that Teridax was simply demanding everyone's submission to his armies and will.

He spoke about futility of resistance and the usual bad guy monologue (if this had been less serious, she would have laughed when he said "Makutaverse". How egotistical can you get?) before a blast of energy erupted from the sky and wiped the Avengers Compound off the map.

"Oh god, Peter!" Hurriedly she dialed his phone, her heart beating rapidly through each ring. "C'mon, pick up."

"MJ?"

"Peter!" She released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." He said quickly, clearly tense and distracted. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine." She said quickly. "But- I just thought-"

"I was outside the compound, I'm fine." She wanted to question him more, but the tone of his voice indicated it wasn't a good time. "Sorry, I have to go."

He hung up before she could get a chance to say anything else. That alone said just how bad everything was right now, and she couldn't exactly blame him. That wasn't the only place the Makuta attacked, and the sky was now a holo-show, displaying destruction after destruction from small bases to entire worlds.

The Avengers Compound wasn't the only place that had been struck on their world alone: already news had broken out that Wakanda and New Asgard had also taken similar orbital attacks, and between that and all those other Republic locations, the death toll would likely be in the millions, if not billions.

And just as suddenly as the message began, it ended, leaving the skies void of the eerie red light of Teridax's eyes. Of course, that wasn't the end of it. Fear and panic had gripped the streets of New York, something MJ saw as she traveled through the streets, all thoughts of work forgotten by her and everyone else.

Pulling out her phone, she started scrolling through her list of contacts to call Peter, but hesitated, realizing that he was still likely busy, and that any distraction could be dangerous for him. As if on cue, a text message from her boyfriend appeared on the screen.

"Big mission gotta go" A second text popped up immediately after the first. "I love you mj"

...

She didn't have to wait long to figure out what mission that was. Only a few hours later, Teridax's voice and images returned, this time showing a gigantic robot housing the Makuta's consciousness as he fought against several heroes who might as well have been ants to him.

MJ recognized some of them, but others she only knew in passing from some of Peter's stories. One thing was certain, however: Teridax had the upper hand, and wanted everyone to know it. And he demonstrated it further when he simply sent all of them to the surface of the planet he was standing, leaving the heroes dazed and alive.

Then Makuta decided to show off his own superiority. Apparently he wanted them all to see the futility of resistance, and she couldn't help but stare in horror when she recognized Spider-Man among the gathering, barely able to move from whatever Teridax had done to them all.

"Behold, the greatest the multiverse has to offer." Teridax spoke up again, clearly wanting everyone to know just how pathetic he found them all. "Aliens, Legends, Heroes and Gods." A massive foot was raised, casting a shadow over the beaten heroes. "This is where you all belong. Under my heel!"

She could swear her heart had frozen when Makuta was about to crush them under his foot, and only started beating again when Mata Nui's voice had spoken up and an energy blast had knocked Teridax away.

The illusion in the sky ended immediately after that blast landed, leaving MJ still staring up in case it came back on. She hated this, hated not knowing what was happening, especially after Peter had just been caught in the middle of all of it.

She paid little attention to what was happening around, unaware of how much time had passed. She only was pulled out of her reverie when her phone started ringing, and she dragged her eyes to the device.

Tears welled in her eyes when she saw that it was Peter's picture on the display. She didn't hesitate to answer, feeling unbelievably happy just to hear his voice. He quickly explained how Mata Nui had teleported them to safety, getting all the heroes medical attention, before asking where she was.

"On my way home right now." She replied, her legs aching as she all but ran towards their apartment.

"I'll meet you there." He promised, before hanging up the phone.

She found him in their room, strangely close to the sock drawer before she basically threw herself into his arms. All pretense of her typical stoicism vanished as she melted into his embrace, tears flowing from her as she sobbed.

...

The fight against Teridax's giant body was only the beginning. In the days to follow and true to the Makuta's word, he had dispatched his armies of First Order soldiers, Rahkshi and Visorak alike, to pacify the population of their world.

A number of Republic fleets had been wrecked during Teridax's surprise attack, leaving their forces stretched dangerously thin. It also meant that the Avengers were increasingly busy trying to halt their advance, with Spider-Man among them.

He had called MJ, who had been caught outside during one of the resulting skirmishes, and practically begged her to get somewhere safe. So now she was running through the streets, ducking her head as lasers and other projectiles flew by, trying to avoid the worst of the fighting.

Unfortunately, her luck ran out when she came across a pair of Stormtroopers, who were executing wounded civilians who had been caught in a blast from a First Order tank. The rest of the street was fairly quiet, but that just meant that there were no distractions when one of the Stormtroopers spotted her.

"Freeze!" The white armored soldier shouted, pointing his rifle in her direction.

Thinking quickly, MJ used the webshooters her boyfriend had given her to instead web up the guy's legs, causing him to trip over his own feet. The second soldier fired on her, the bolt of energy narrowly missing her head.

MJ shrieked as she fired more webbing, this time striking him in the visor and briefly blinding him. Taking the third part of her boyfriend's advice, she immediately made a break for it, just as the first soldier managed to cut his way free of the webbing around his legs.

"Get her!"

The two Stormtroopers started chasing her down, energy bolts just narrowly missing her. Unfortunately, one struck a damaged lamppost, which fell and blocked her path, causing her to stumble to the ground.

Just as she heard the cock of two blaster rifles being aimed at her, another voice emerged. "Hey assholes, pick on someone your own size." MJ turned in time just to see a woman in civilian clothes punch one of the Stormtroopers in the face, sending him flying and denting his helmet, before he hit a wall and didn't move.

The other soldier tried to shoot her, but the woman grabbed his rifle and crushed it in her hand, before using it as a makeshift club and hitting the trooper over the head with it, where he also fell to the ground unmoving.

The woman turned as MJ made her way to her feet, letting her get a good glimpse at the face of her rescuer. MJ's eyes widened in relief at the sight of Jessica Jones, who had a flash of recognition upon seeing MJ as well.

"Shit, I know you." She said. "You're Spider-Man's girlfriend, right?"

"Uh yeah." MJ nodded quickly, still reeling from that close encounter.

"Let's get you somewhere safe." Jessica said, looking around and gesturing for her to follow. "Lord knows I still owe the kid a favor."

...

Spider-Man was swinging through the streets of New York, helping any stray civilians who were still out in the combat zone while simultaneously taking out whatever combatants he could.

Firing a webline at a Visorak that was climbing into the shattered window of an office building, threatening to grab and mutate one of the panicking civilians within, Peter pulled the creature out of the building, managing to knock a flying Rahkshi out of the sky at the same time.

Spider-Man immediately jumped into the building himself, causing several of the workers to scream in surprise. "Hey, hey! It's alright." He raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I'm here to help."

One guy screamed and pointed at the window, where yet more Visorak were starting to make themselves heard. Peter immediately webbed it up as well as the broken window, hoping to buy them all a few seconds.

"You guys need to get downstairs now!" Peter shouted.

This seemed to break them out of their frozen state, and the civilians immediately started filing out in a hurry, just as a trio of Visorak broke through Peter's webbing. Spider-Man sidestepped the three Rhotuka spinners sent his way, before webbing one of the larger appliances and smashing it against the robotic spiders.

The Visorak attempted to recover, but Peter was immediately on the Rahi, and one by one he tore them apart, throwing the last one back out the window where it came from. Peter breathed a sigh of relief, but that moment of calm was interrupted by his Spider-sense tingling.

Peter turned just in time to be punched in the face, as the room around him suddenly grew dark. The only thing he could see was his attacker, causing Peter's eyes to widen. He was being attacked by... himself.

The fake Spider-Man charged at Peter, causing him to duck and grab his doppelganger's leg as he attempted to jump kick the original Spider-Man. Peter used the momentum to throw the clone into the darkness, where it simply vanished, leaving him wondering just what the hell was going on.

Illusion Rahkshi, it had to be. That was the only thing to explain what the hell was happening. And if there were any telepathic Rahkshi nearby, they would also know what he feared, making his deepest nightmares into reality.

"This isn't real." He shouted. "This can't be real!"

"Peter?" He turned to see MJ standing there, looking utterly terrified. They were on top of the Eiffel Tower once again, with the rest of the environment shrouded in darkness. "What's happening?"

"I know this isn't real!"

"Isn't it?" Peter's eyes widened as a figure appeared behind MJ. But not just any figure, it was him, clad in a primarily black suit with crimson highlights and rust marks all over it. The dark Spider-Man grabbed MJ by the neck, holding her over the edge. "This is the only reality you will know." He let her drop.

"MJ!"

Peter didn't hesitate to jump after her, only to hit something solid in the dark. His Spider-sense tingled, just giving him enough time to roll out of the way of an energy blast that blew a hole right where his head had been only a moment ago.

That was it. That was the key. As he got back up to a standing position, Peter closed the irises of his mask, leaving him shrouded in darkness, blind to the rest of the world. Letting his instincts guide him, Spider-Man effortlessly sidestepped a blast of lightning before running forward, firing his webshooters and pulling, which caused two Rahkshi to stagger forward.

He fell into a slide across the floor, kicking out the legs of a Rahkshi and causing it to swing its staff into the face of another. Not done, he fired two web lines into the ceiling, using it as a sling to pull himself forward and kick another Rahkshi in the faceplate, crushing its Kraata.

He leapt over a blast of plasma, the searing heat passing mere inches from his face, before webbing its staff and redirecting the stream into the Illusion Rahkshi, causing it to lose control over the illusion.

With his sight free and his Spider-sense active, Peter made short work of the rest of the creatures, breathing heavily once he was surrounded by smashed Rahkshi corpses. A flash of fear went through his mind as the image of MJ being thrown off the Eiffel Tower returned.

Barely thinking, Peter ran towards the window and leapt out of the building, firing off a webline and swinging away.

...

MJ had just made it back to their apartment, having managed to escape the chaos going on outside. Of course, she had Jessica Jones to thank for that. Without the investigator's help, MJ would probably have died already.

Strangely though, it seemed like the attack was starting to wind down: they had hardly encountered all that much fighting, and indeed, the Makuta's armies seemed to be withdrawing. Why was something MJ couldn't fathom, but she was grateful for it nonetheless.

Jessica had split off when Michelle was back in her apartment, which was also in one of the safe zones of the city. The peace and silence of their home should have calmed MJ's mind, but instead it was wracked with worry over what was happening with her boyfriend.

She wanted to call and make sure that he was alright, but she hesitated, knowing that Peter could be fighting for his life right now and that any distraction could be fatal. So instead she found herself pacing in their bedroom, hoping that he was alright.

She was so lost in thought that the tapping on the window made her jump, before she turned and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her boyfriend outside, costume and all, and immediately ran over to open the window as he pulled off his mask and climbed into the room.

"Thank god you're alright." MJ spoke quickly, her anxiety boiling over. "Those guys, they were just everywhere and so much was going on and-"

She got cut off as Peter grabbed and held her in a crushing hug, choking back a sob as he held her close, tears threatening to flow over from his eyes. MJ immediately ran her hands over his back in response, letting him hold her as close as he needed.

"Peter," She whispered, after his sobs started to fade away. "What happened?"

"I had to make sure you were alright." Peter breathed, holding her close, his voice cracking. "Illusion Rahkshi, they-" MJ cut him off by pressing her lips to his, connecting in a slow sweet kiss that melted his anxiety away.

"Hey," She held him close and pressed her forehead to his. "I'm here, with you."

A soft smile adorned Peter's face as he wrapped her up in a hug again. He melted into her touch, letting himself go to just be with her, his anxieties fading with her mere proximity. The moment felt sweet, and all theirs. Unfortunately, reality called as the radio in Peter's ear came to life.

"Parker, Mata Nui's springing the trap." She was close enough to hear Tony's voice in his ear, causing Peter so shut his eyes in a silent groan. "We need you over here now."

"On my way." Peter pulled back with a heavy sigh, but MJ held onto his forearms, to keep him from pulling back fully.

"Peter, what's going on?"

"It's a major op." Peter said heavily, turning his head away. "If it goes to plan, this war could end today."

"And if it doesn't?" Peter's silence spoke for itself. His gaze turned back to her, his eyes apologetic and glistening.

"MJ-"

She cut him off with another kiss, savoring every second of his lips on hers, her body against his, feeling every inch of him against her, memorizing what it felt like to have him, hold him, to love him more than anyone ever had and to know that he loved her just as much. Just in case it was the last time.

"I love you." His confession drew tears from her eyes, no longer trying to hold them back.

"I love you." MJ hugged Peter for what could be the last time. "Come back to me."

He nodded silently, words failing him at the moment. Then he broke from their embrace and pulled his mask back on, climbing out the window as she watched. He took one last look at her, memorizing every detail about her before he was gone.

...

It never felt right, having to wait at home while the love of her life was out fighting to protect the world. Now, he was going into a battle to decide the course of the multiverse. One he might not come back from. The TV was on, showing the heroes heading off to depart, but she could barely pay any attention as she absently checked the apartment.

Then she found it. Hiding in his sock drawer, of all places. The box itself was rather simple and small, a navy blue jewelry box. It was what was inside that made her heart quiver in spite of herself. A gasp escaped her lips as she turned back to the screen, where she could see the Avengers leaving with Strange, Spider-Man with them.

He had obviously been planning this for some time now. That much was pretty clear. But he never had a chance to ask her. And now, watching as he vanished through one of those portals alongside the Avengers, she knew there was a very real possibility that he might never get the chance at all.

MJ knew what her answer was.

"You better come back to me, Peter."

* * *

**Sorry to leave you all on a bit of a cliffhanger there. Anyway, if you've read Shattered Destinies, you know what battle Peter will be fighting in. As for what Peter was planning? Well, you'll just have to wait until the next chapter to find out for sure.**

**Now, there are only two chapters left before this story is concluded: the final one that will come next, and the epilogue. I can't say what else is happening at the moment, but rest assured, I think you'll all enjoy it.**

**With that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.**


	8. Getting Married

**And now we get to what is technically the final chapter of this story. Oh, there's still the epilogue, of course, but that may or may not end up being non-canon to my works, I haven't decided yet. But for all intents and purposes, this is the final chapter of the story.**

**Anyway, this takes place after the final battle in Shattered Destinies, so that's the last major bit of crossover from my works that we'll be dealing with. The rest, well, let's just dive right in.**

**Major warning, this is where the story really earns its M rating.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the MCU or anything else that appears in this story.**

* * *

He came back.

Makuta was dead, his army in tatters and the First Order surrendering, but MJ couldn't truly bring herself to care about any of that at the moment. All that mattered right now was the superhero in her arms.

His costume was in tatters, his face was covered in sweat and blood and he looked and sounded as if he'd just been through a war (which he technically had). But he was alive. He was home.

When Peter came back through their apartment window, MJ had immediately tackled him in a hug, tears flowing down her cheeks while she held him as close as she possibly could. His breath in her ear, his heartbeat beating in time with hers, his strong arms wrapped around her back and shoulders, holding him just as tightly.

Their embrace only lasted for so long, with both of them whispering into each other's ear, about how they missed each other, how glad that the other was safe, all the mushy stuff that Michelle used to hate when she was younger but now she simply couldn't get enough of.

When they pulled back, MJ immediately kissed him, capturing his lips with hers as she maneuvered them towards the bed. A quick slap of the Spider symbol on his chest had his suit falling to the floor, leaving him in only his boxers.

The need for air had them breaking the kiss, and Peter used that moment of respite to grab the hem of her night shirt and start pulling it off, aided by MJ's own need to remove her clothes and feel him, all him.

It had been the only article of clothing she was wearing besides her panties, and MJ pushed him back until his legs hit the edge of the bed. She shrieked happily as Peter wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her lips against his in a long drawn out kiss.

Soon, nothing was enough. Their underwear was thrown to the floor haphazardly, immediately followed by simultaneous moans as they joined as one. Sweat dripped and their breathing grew rougher as she rode him like their life depended on it, chasing her release with his aid.

Normally, they would go a little slower, just enjoying the feel of each other, but after everything that had happened, MJ needed that bliss, that absolution with him, and Peter certainly had no complaints.

She barely held off a scream as pleasure crashed into her, prolonged by his movements before he followed her over the edge. Breathless panting was all that could be heard after they came down from their heavenly peak, with their arms wrapped around each other.

"Well," Peter panted, a dorky smile all over his face. "that was a nice 'welcome home' present." MJ could only laugh breathlessly. It took a while before MJ had enough of her breath back in order to speak properly.

"I'm really glad you're OK." She whispered, cuddling up against him, kissing his cheek.

"Same with you." He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She pulled him into a long and sweet kiss, smiling against his lips. When they pulled away, the smile hadn't left her face. "Oh and by the way, my answer's Yes."

"What?" Peter furrowed his eyebrows, which then shot up as Michelle pulled a small navy blue box from their bedside table. "Where did you get that?!"

"You know, your sock drawer is a really bad hiding spot." She chuckled. "Seriously, how has no one else figured out that you're Spider-Man?"

"I bought it just before Teridax destroyed the Avengers compound." Peter protested. "I didn't have time to find a better hiding place."

"You still could have found a better spot than your sock drawer." MJ countered, shaking her head with amusement. "Though it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference in the long run."

"But I had a whole plan!" Peter spoke rapidly. "I was going to book another trip to Paris and the Eiffel Tower and-"

MJ cut him off with another long and sweet kiss, her hand caressing his cheek as he melted into her embrace. When she pulled back, he had a dazed lovestruck look in his eyes, one that made her grin.

"Yes, Peter Parker, I will marry you." She said softly, his hand cupping her cheek instinctively.

"Can I at least do the speech?" Peter asked after a moment. "I had it all memorized and everything."

"Seriously?" Michelle rolled her eyes, but her fond smile betrayed what she really felt. Especially when he gave her those damn puppy dog eyes. "Fine."

She handed him the box and resisted the urge to roll her eyes again as he got out of bed and down on one knee.

"MJ." He started, and her heart simply melted at that alone. Then he continued. "You are my best friend and the love of my life. And truthfully, I don't know how long my life will go on. I can't promise that I'll live forever. But what I do know is that however long or short it may be, I want to spend the rest of it with you. You're the first thing I want to see when I wake up every morning and the last thing I want to see before I go to sleep every night. I love you, MJ. I love all of you, and I always will." Her eyes glistened with tears as he spoke.

"Peter..."

"Michelle Jones," He made an absolutely dorky yet endearing show of opening the box and revealing the ring inside. "Will you marry me?"

"You already know the answer." MJ cupped his cheeks and kissed him.

He slipped the ring on her finger, the color of the diamond on the ring matching perfectly with the necklace she always wore. She took a brief look at the ring and grinned, before pulling Peter's smiling face back to hers, kissing him again and again and again.

...

Peter and MJ had called their friends and family to let them know the good news. Ned was shocked but happy for them both, May was ecstatic, her eyes brimming with tears when they told her the good news.

Tony was certainly surprised, and was initially annoyed that Peter hadn't told him his plans. However, Pepper was more openly congratulatory about their engagement, and Tony followed through as well, even offering to pay for the ceremony.

Of course, that plan had to take a bit of a backseat, especially since there was still the aftermath of the war to deal with and a shit load of clean up to do, something Spider-Man was more than eager to help with.

It took just over a month before things could get back to some degree of normalcy, which eventually left Peter and MJ with some time to plan what they wanted to do for their wedding.

"What if we just got married tomorrow? Skip the overly expensive ceremony and extensive guest list, and just go do it." MJ said one night, as the two of them were eating dinner on the couch, watching a crime movie. Peter coughed as some food went down the wrong pipe, drinking some water to clear his throat.

"You want to elope?" Peter looked at her, checking to see if she was joking and finding no sign of it.

"I mean," MJ stuttered, suddenly a little nervous. "I know all our friends and family want to be there, but... I just want the ceremony to be about us, Peter." She started babbling a bit more under his gaze. "I get if you don't want to, but after everything, I just-I just want to be married to you-"

He cut her off with a slow sweet kiss, letting her revel in the scent of him, the taste of his lips on hers. When he pulled back, there was a soft smile on his face, the kind that he reserved only for her, when they were alone.

"Let's do it." He said with a smile, nuzzling against her. "Let's get married tomorrow."

"You mean it?"

"MJ, I would marry you anytime, anywhere." Peter said softly, running his hand over her cheek. "So let's do it. We'll go down to the courthouse tomorrow and have our wedding there."

"I love you, you know that?" MJ whispered, kissing his cheek.

"Well, we're getting married tomorrow, so I would hope so." Peter chuckled, causing MJ to slap him on the shoulder. He responded by kissing her, causing her to lie back on the couch, pulling him with her.

...

The next day, they got a marriage license and had their wedding ceremony there. They had dressed relatively casually, with MJ simply wearing a simple and non-extravagant white dress (plus the Black Dahlia necklace) and Peter going in a soft dress shirt and black jeans.

The ceremony was over relatively quickly, which was something of a relief to MJ, meaning that they didn't have to worry about Peter getting called away for some Spider-Man work. They decided to simply tell May and Ned what they had done, planning to tell everyone else the next day.

Once the congratulations were out of the way, the two of them headed back home, with Peter carrying the giggling MJ over the threshold bridal style before they both retreated to the bedroom.

He lay her back on the bed, before joining her, cuddling against her and simply loving the fact that they were here. Being married really shouldn't have changed much, but now it felt different between them, but better, very much better. Especially with Peter lying against her, his arms wrapped around her while he was running his fingers through her hair.

"This has been the best day of my life." MJ giggled in spite of herself, loving the sincerity in Peter's words. "I mean it. I'm married to the woman of my dreams. This day could not be better."

The smile on her face and the tears in her eyes told him everything he already knew. She was at her capacity for spilling emotion today, after her vows. He wasn't complaining, of course. What she had said at the courthouse, had actually had him in tears of joy. So, instead she said something else.

"Oh, I can think of one way it could be better." She said with a smile, the smile she reserved for him, only him. After all these years, she knew. She knew that he was the only one for her, the one she would spend the rest of forever with.

"Oh, and what's that?"

"We have to consummate our wedding." She replied, her smile becoming a sultry smirk. "You know, for luck or something."

Peter's eyes sparkled, but he said nothing else as he pulled her close and kissed her, his hands running up her legs until he reached the hem of her dress, pulling it up and off her body. This left in her in her lingerie, causing Peter's mouth to water.

"Y'know, I think you're wearing too many clothes." MJ teased, grasping at his shirt and pulling the buttons off.

With a chuckle, he quickly helped her, divesting himself of his shirt and pants while MJ removed her lingerie as quickly as possible. Soon, they were too stark naked bodies against each other, with his chest against hers and his length poking at her stomach.

He kissed her then, gentle and tender as their lips molded against each other. Once that was done, he set to work, kissing down her jawline and neck, causing her to gasp as he worked her sensitive spots, before he reached her chest.

He nuzzled her breasts, before kissing along one and taking her nipple into his mouth. Her body arched up at the sensation, allowing him to take more of her breast into his mouth, while his free hand made sure her other breast received extra attention.

He left her breasts before trailing a line of kisses down her body, reaching the spot she so desperately wanted to feel him against. She was wet as he held onto her legs, before pressing his mouth against her entrance.

Years of his experience were proving to be her undoing as he expertly manipulated her body. Her fingers ran through his hair as he lapped against her slit, arching her back when his tongue brushed her clit.

She was so close to the edge when Peter pulled back, causing MJ to groan in frustration and shoot him an annoyed look. The look vanished when she saw the heat in his eyes and the pre-cum welling at his tip, and her annoyance was replaced with a burning need for him to be inside her.

He crawled back over her and kissed her hard, moaning into her mouth as her hand found his length and started rubbing against him. She ran her thumb over the tip, spreading his pre-cum all over her length, leaving it slick and ready for her. Peter pulled back, his eyes filled with the same lust and love she felt. They couldn't wait any longer.

Lining him up, MJ pulled him to her entrance, rubbing the tip against her clit. They both moaned at the sensation, and Peter didn't waste any more time. He eased himself into her until he was buried to the hilt, ragged gasps emerging from both of them as Peter reveled in the sensation of her walls clenching around him, all her.

She let him set the pace, as Peter thrust into her relatively slowly. He wanted to savor this moment, savor her. His wife, the woman he would love until the end of time, she could feel the emotion behind him as they made love, a sensation she felt as well.

Still, as much as MJ enjoyed the slow pace, all too soon the steady climb became too good to sustain. She wanted to get to the peak already, and she needed to take him with her.

She rolled them both over so that she was on top, and began rocking against him at a faster pace. Peter's hands were at her hips, guiding her through the rise and fall, while thrusting up as best as he could manage.

She felt herself hit the peak first as her orgasm flowed through her, barely holding in a scream as she tasted absolution. He followed her over the edge, letting out a hoarse cry as he emptied himself inside of her.

They went a few more rounds after that, the two of them desiring to make the most out of their first night as husband and wife. Their positions varied from sweet and tender, to hot and passionate, and by the time they had exhausted their energy, it was well into the late hours of the night.

Completely spent and ridiculously happy, MJ crawled onto Peter's lap, curling his arm around his hip and tucking her head underneath his chin. His heartbeat echoed in her ear as his arms wrapped around her, holding her securely.

Peter was almost afraid that this was going to be a dream. That he would wake up alone, to a world where he wasn't with MJ, a world where she had died, or fallen in love with someone else. This was the happiest he'd ever been in his life, and he was afraid that he'd lose it.

The fear was drowned out by the warmth of her body against him, the feel of the metal band around his ring finger, the sound of her breathing against him, her intoxicating scent, and the love she exuded with every inch of their skin touching. He focused on that, on her. MJ was here, with him, and she always would be.

"I love you, so, _so_ much." Peter whispered, holding her as close as he could.

MJ's grip was just as secure around him. After everything, Thanos, the Tidal Wave, Makuta, and all the chaos and conflict that came with it, there had been so many times where she was afraid that she would lose him forever, that he would go out as Spider-Man and never come back.

She could've never imagined that the guy she became obsessed with in Midtown would end up becoming the love of her life, let alone that she would actually end up married to him, but now that she was, the thought of never having him at all hurt even more.

She focused on him, the sound of his heartbeat, the rise and fall of his chest with every breath, the heady scent that was Peter, all Peter, and the wedding and engagement rings that adorned her finger, forever marking her as his, for the rest of their lives. Peter was here, with her, and he always would be.

"I love you, too." MJ whispered, holding him as close as she could.

* * *

**And that's the official end of this story. Don't worry, there's still the epilogue to come, so we'll have one last chapter with our favorite nerds. I'll keep the details of that secret for now, so you'll just have to wait and see what happens next.**

**All in all, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.**


	9. Epilogue

**Alright, and here we get to enjoy the epilogue. Once again, I'm undecided whether or not this will be canon to my multiverse, or will just end up being a 'What If' timeline, but that's something for the future. In the meantime, let's just dive in.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the MCU or anything else that appears in this story.**

* * *

10 years later

It had been a long ten years since the events of Makuta's attack on Spherus Magna, and since that time, their world had prospered by leaps and bounds. Tony Stark, Shuri and now Peter Parker had helped spearhead such marvels with the help of Republic scientists, making innumerable advancements to their Earth.

Now though, Peter had the day off, which was perfect considering it was his wedding anniversary. Ten years with MJ, ten years of being with her, holding her, loving her. Even through all the darkest days, the last ten years were unquestionably the best in his entire life, and he knew that as long as he was with her, they would continue to be so.

So they decided to do something special for the tenth wedding anniversary. Of course, MJ had never been one for grand romantic gestures or overly expensive and opulent dates, preferring just small intimate moments between the two of them.

Today though, she was making an exception, especially when Peter promised to take her to one of his favorite sites in New York. Of course, years ago, MJ would've been hesitant about him taking her up high like that, given her terrifying experiences with webslinging.

"Woohoo!"

Over the years though, she'd gotten better about it, especially once Peter taught her how to do it herself. He laughed as his wife swung past him on her own webline, doing a backflip in mid air before catching herself with another line and smoothly transitioning between buildings with the ease of experience.

"You gotta keep up, Spider-Man!"

"I was giving you a head start!" Peter shouted, swinging after her. "I didn't want to make this unfair!"

"Keep telling yourself that." MJ replied, flipping him off as she flipped and swung out of sight.

Peter gave chase, and despite MJ's best attempts to keep ahead of her husband, he quickly caught up with her, tackling her in mid-air as they twisted, before landing and sticking to the side of a building, Peter upside down and MJ the right way up, their faces right next to each other.

"Told you."

"You know, you really pull off smug when you want to." MJ chuckled, pulling the lower half of his mask up so that his jaw was uncovered.

"You're one to talk." Peter teased, causing MJ's eyes to narrow.

"I'm going to get you for that later." She said glaringly, even though Peter could see the smile on her face as he pulled the bottom edge of her mask up.

"I'm sure you will."

Peter closed the distance and pressed his lips to hers before she could reply, causing her to moan softly into his mouth. They stayed that way for a moment, lips pulling against each other, tongues intertwining as the sounds of New York washed over them.

"You ready to keep going?" Peter asked, when they pulled away.

"Yeah." MJ smiled as she pulled her mask down. "Lead the way."

He leapt off the building and she followed, the two of them swinging toward their destination. As they traveled, Peter couldn't help but sneak glances at his wife, both for how absolutely beautiful she looked in a skintight costume, but also for how well she had improved since their first time webslinging.

...

_"You've got this!" Peter shouted, swinging between a couple skyscrapers and down the avenue before reaching another building across the street._

_MJ hesitantly took a step towards the edge of the building she was on, looking down before shutting her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she backed up before sprinting off and leaping through the air, firing a webline onto a building and starting to swing._

_Her efforts were a lot less graceful than Peter's, a lot more fumbling and barely avoiding slamming into the sides of buildings. MJ could barely hold back her breathless screaming as she focused all her efforts on the task at hand._

_"This is really not as easy as you made it look!" MJ protested, halfway through the journey, already taking longer than her husband had._

_"You're doing great!" Peter promised. "Much better than I was when I started."_

_Touched and emboldened by his words, she began to move more confidently, her swings easily transitioning between one to another. Her fear gave way to adrenaline and excitement as she started to find a rhythm._

_She was just a building away from Peter when the inevitable happened: MJ mis-timed a web line and started to fall. Her brain gave way to panic as she the sensation of falling caused her to flail blindly in terror._

_"Peter!"_

_"I got you!"_

_He swung back and instantly caught her in one arm, holding close to him. Peter swung them both to the side of a building as MJ caught her breath, with Peter holding her up as she used his knee as a makeshift seat._

_"You alright?" The concerned tone of voice was obvious, even from behind his mask._

_"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." MJ took a few calming breaths. "It just startled me, that's all."_

_"I'm so sorry, MJ." Peter said miserably. "I shouldn't have done this, I-"_

_"Peter, shut up." MJ put her hand over his mouth, her voice filled with affection for him. "It's fine. Besides, I wanted to do this, remember?"_

_"You know we don't have to." Peter offered. "I know it's never been your favorite thing-"_

_"I've got this." MJ interrupted. "Besides, I've gotta learn some time."_

_It took several minutes of convincing before MJ could try again. Peter stuck much closer to her this time, in case it happened again, but thankfully it didn't. And through more trial and error, slowly but surely MJ started to get the hang of it._

...

Of course, that was MJ for you. Once she set her mind on something, she would strive to complete it, no matter what. It was one of the many, many reasons Peter had fallen in love with her.

"Eyes on the road, Spider-Boy." MJ called out, as Peter narrowly avoided swinging directly into a balcony.

Peter chuckled sheepishly as he turned his attention back to their destination. It wasn't hard to miss, being the tallest building in New York City. Even after everything, the Empire State Building still loomed over the skyline of Manhattan.

"Race you to the top?" Peter said, a grin underneath his mask as he looked at his wife.

"You're on." MJ smirked, and took off before he had a chance to count down.

"Hey!" Peter protested, even as he started following her up. MJ reached the top of the building mere seconds before Peter did, laughing as she helped her husband up to the top.

"I win!" MJ said smugly. "What's my prize?"

"This." Peter pulled off his mask, then hers and kissed her, his arms snaking around her back while hers wrapped around his shoulders.

"Kind of a lame prize." MJ deadpanned when they broke apart. "I already got this earlier."

"Don't worry," Peter shook his head with a grin. "You'll get the rest of your prize later."

"I'm holding you to that." She pulled his lips back to hers, getting lost in the kiss and their embrace. All too soon though, they were interrupted.

"Sheesh, get a room you two."

The two of them pulled back to see two Iron Man suits hovering right next to the tower. Two nanite helmets retracted, revealing the face of Tony Stark, and his young daughter Morgan Stark.

"Oh hey, Mr. Stark." Peter greeted his mentor, before turning to the young girl. "Hey Morgan."

"Hey Spider-Boy, Spider-Girl." MJ shot Tony an impressive death glare.

"Spider-Woman, Stark." She said half-jokingly. "Though Spider-Boy is accurate."

"Hey!" Peter protested, while Morgan giggled.

"Well, I just came to make sure you two weren't doing anything too inappropriate up here." Tony teased, causing the two of them to blush and Morgan to roll her eyes.

"Dad." She drawled, drawing a chuckle out of her old man. "So, how's Ben doing?"

"Miles is looking after him today." Peter replied, eager to change the subject.

"So, free babysitting, smart." Tony chuckled. "Though I'm kinda hurt you didn't ask me, Pete."

"After what happened last time?" MJ interjected, causing Tony's smile to drop and Morgan to giggle again.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Nope." Peter and MJ spoke at the same time.

"It was pretty bad, dad." Morgan chimed in with a smirk.

"And this is the thanks I get." Tony muttered melodramatically. "C'mon Morgan. Let's leave these two lovebugs alone."

The Iron Man family flew off before either Spider could respond. Peter looked at his wife, a hint of concern in his expression and voice.

"Do you think Ben is doing alright?" Peter said, anxiously. "Maybe we should check in with Miles-"

"Peter, relax." MJ took his hands in hers. "Miles has done this a million times before. Hell, with his powers, he's arguably the best babysitter for Ben."

"You're right." Peter sighed in relief. "You know I worry a lot."

"I know." She kissed his cheek. "I worry too. But tonight is just about you and me." Peter said nothing else, merely grinning and capturing her lips.

"I love you."

"I love you."

They stood together on top of the Empire State Building, looking over the view of New York City as the sun started to set. MJ's head rested on Peter's shoulder while one arm was around her back and one arm was around his waist.

Life was good.

* * *

**And that's the end of this story. I figured that after all the shit Spider-Man's been through, especially in the MCU, there should be at least one version who has things go right for him.**

**Still, I want to thank everyone who stuck with me through this, and I hope you all enjoyed this little sidestory of my own. Especially with everything going on right now with MCU Spider-Man.**

**With all that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this story and reviews are always welcome.**


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